Human history tells us that for years human beings relied on a reading and interpretation of nature for their own survival. People relied on reading nature for navigation, for agricultural work, for healthcare management, for military campaigns, for worship. For instance, parents knew that when the skin, the hair or the eyes of their babies changed in a certain manner, the babies needed to be treated with a specific herb to improve their health. Farmers knew that when birds started making their nests, or the squirrels started gathering nuts, it meant the end of one season and the arrival of new season. They acted accordingly. Humanity has survived over the years through careful reading and interpretation of nature.
In our contemporary times, we have become even more sophisticated in our reading of signs and trends and forecasting how the future might look like. You can see that in the Weather Apps where we gather so much data and can predict what the weather will look like in the next ten days. You can see that with the Stock Markets where financial wizards can read subtle shifts in trends and make decisions about when to buy or to sell stocks.
The Lord in the gospel looks at people’s skilled ability to read nature and behaviors of people and he says, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” In other words, why is it difficult to read with the same clarity the spiritual and moral realities of your life and your society? Socially, when you see Catholic Schools and Catholic Churches closing, does it say anything to us about the spiritual temperature of our times? When we notice fewer young people coming to Church or joining the seminaries does it signal something that needs urgent attention? On a personal level, when we see misdirected anger and incivility being normalized what does that say about the state of the human heart? Can we be able to read anything out of these situations?
Today the Lord is teaching us about the need to have a heart and mind that can accurately read the spiritual climate. Talk about having a functioning “spiritual weather App.” That “spiritual weather app” is the Holy Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of God that tells our hearts that it is time to forgive and let go; it is time to serve, it time to share what you have, it is time to be kind, it is time to engage in prayer, it is time to see the face of God in the other, this needs urgent action. It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth that can help us to become highly discerning people, to tell right from wrong.
May we in this Mass ask the Lord to open wider our hearts so that His Spirit can find space in our hearts. May we too be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit in our everyday lives, so that we can be able to see and to hear the guidance of God in our lives. Veni Creator Spiritus! Amen.