The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore. (Mk 8:11-13)
This small piece of Scripture has a lot to it. I have often wondered how Jesus put up with what most of us would consider to be A LOT – stupidity, ignorance, stubbornness, close-mindedness, hard-heartedness…the list goes on! In this scene, we have the Pharisees trying to engage Jesus in argument specifically by requesting that he prove his authority. They wanted a “sign from heaven” to verify that what he was saying, indeed, how he was living was condoned or in line with the will of God! I wonder what (if any) kind of ‘sign’ would satisfy them.
We live most of our lives it seems within the realm of expectations – what type of success can I achieve?, when will I receive what is my due?…what can I provide for my children?.. what does this life have to offer me?… what enjoyment will this vacation bring me?… what is enough? We all do this on individual, social and national levels. Expectations are normal and of themselves are not a ‘bad’ thing. Perhaps the danger that lies in expectations is how much they dominate our lives. In other words, are our expectations driving the focus of our lives? What is the context for what we want or hope for in this life?
How many times have we allowed ourselves to be satisfied or disappointed strictly by the degree to which our expectations are met? It’s a crazy version of ‘freedom’ that actually makes us more enslaved that free. We may think that our choices, made with regards to expected outcomes, are an authentic exercise of ‘freedom.’ But, if we really look at what it is that is driving our choices, we may find that we are actually operating out of cultural habits and social biases that operate as ‘signs’ pointing to value or verifying meaning. This car is trendy. That is the hottest vacation spot this year.
Even some of the less ‘surface’ choices we make are driven by established ‘signs’ that verify or stamp an action with a sense of validity or authority. My children need to go to that school. This church is the right one to attend. My nation is sanctioned by the divine.
What ultimately happens, when our choices are operating solely from a ground of expectations that have specific ‘signs’ solely responsible for conveying any value, is that something or someone gets excluded. There is nothing wrong with preference but if it is ruling our lives, then we are not free – none of us! We may create and support structures that provide an environment where we feel ‘free,” but if any one effected by that structure is denied or marginalized by the preference or privilege of someone else in that structure, there is no freedom. The ‘signs’ of value and meaning that we confer and expect in this type of false freedom become absurdities at best and destructive violence in the worst scenarios.
What is the sign that could lead us out of the enslavement of false signs that set up unrealistic expectations that never can fulfill what we think they can achieve? It could be very subtle but also extremely profound. It would need to be something that is flexible but steady, integrative yet discerning, grounding but flowing. This may all sound paradoxical, but perhaps the third line in this small passage from Mark gives us a hint to where we might start…
“He sighed from the depth of his spirit…”
This one deep breath taken in the frustration of the demand by the Pharisees is perhaps the one ‘sign’ that can point us in the direction of the Divine. It’s the sign of Living! And it’s right there – it’s right here. Jesus breathes…we all breathe. How can we not? And yet is that what we are doing with these expected signs for rigid outcomes? Are we holding our breath for that expectation? Isn’t this our generation, who, like the Pharisees, pander to ‘signs’ that overlook and many times destroy Life? Could Jesus be challenging us to question the very basis for the signs that we expect to validate our lives? Is this the necessary death that we must endure in order to really live? It’s not a question of doing away with laws or morals, but it is the urgency to breathe new life into them allow them to live through transformation.
God’s life always means more Life. We want life but we are afraid to die to the ‘signs’ of narrow expectations rather than transformative hope. Maybe we mistake hope for expectations? Expectations seem to be very specific and, for that reason, are driven from a clear mental picture of what needs to happen in order for the expectation to be met. Hope, though, is something different. Hope, I believe, has a certain open-endedness about it. What I mean by that is that the basis for hope has a relatedness about it – a breathe-ability – that does not rely so much on specific details as much as a bigger picture that when it ‘becomes visible’ it has a surprising newness about it, that can carry us farther than we could ever have imagined or expected.
The ‘sign’ of hope is the living breath of New Life. New life on the flowing waters of the Christ Life. Christ sighs in compassion and love and inhales us all – invites us to truly participate in the Breath of New Life. The Divine Sigh not of discouragement but of yearning. It’s the boat on the shore in the Gospel, which Jesus gets into and departs for the ‘other shore.’ It’s an invitation to get into the boat as well. Shall we embark? Shall we breathe within the Christ Sigh?