Daily Gospel Reflection for February 17, 2025

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 8:11-13

Two things struck me about today’s Gospel:

“He sighed from the depth of His spirit” (Mark 8:12)

“Then he left them . . . and went off to the other shore.” (Mark 8:13)

As I sit here with a number of requests of the Lord and an “I don’t understand” or two that I brought to Adoration this week, I hear Jesus sighing. Is He going to leave me alone with these thoughts as He left the Pharisees after declining their demand for a sign?

I also wonder why they had demanded the sign. There had been tons of signs. The Pharisees only seemed to accept if Jesus could give them a sign exactly when they asked, or quite possibly they felt they could demand the sign because of who they were.

I do this sometimes with God. I lay out all my faithfulness in front of Him and then ask, can’t You just do this for me? Make it easy?

But I am not loving God through my questioning or demanding. In fact, I am making Him my puppet. My magic genie.

God responds to love, humility, mercy, compassion, repentance. When Jesus leaves, He leaves behind what He can’t fulfill–-allowing us to be God, rather than Him.

Today, let’s allow God to be God and work in our life in His perfect way rather than testing Him and arguing with Him. Let’s bend our will to be in line with His and not the other way around.

Ponder:

Am I demanding signs from the Lord? How can I reorient my conversation with the Lord to be less argumentative and more trusting?

Pray:

Lord, help me to remember that You know the desires of my heart and that I need not demand signs from You in order to test You. I know You gave Your life for me, and there is no greater sign You could have given. For that, I am eternally grateful.

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