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When is it appropriate to ask God for a sign?
In today's Gospel we see "the Pharisees [come] forward and [begin] to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him." Jesus doesn't take it very well.
"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.'"
And yet, didn't Jesus give signs and miracles all the time? What's different this time? I'm very struck by the description of Jesus's sigh. This wasn't just a sigh of irritation for frustration. This sigh comes from way deeper than that. I think it's a sigh of heartbreak and being misunderstood and used.
Jesus knew the hearts of the Pharisees. They weren't trying to test Him so that they could trust that He was the Son of God whom they should worship. They were trying to shape Him to their own purposes. They were trying to bend Him to their rules. They were playing the game on their court, not His.
Asking for a sign is wrong when it can be boiled down to putting God to the test. It's like the devil saying, "If you are the Son of God..." during those three temptations of Jesus in the desert.
However, asking for a sign isn't always a test of God. It's okay to ask for signs from God when you're open to what He has planned. It's okay to ask for signs from God when you're struggling and just need to know that He's a Father who loves you. When charity (love) is your motivation, then you can ask for a sign with no guilt of sin, but when your motivation is malicious then Jesus will sigh from the depth of His spirit as He did with the Pharisees.