An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign

‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.’ But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!

- Matthew 12:33-42

Yesterday's reading ended with Jesus' condemnation of those who would commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: that is, those who would name actions of the Spirit as evil. Here, Jesus begins to elaborate on this understanding. Repeatedly he has cited the Pharisees' criticism as that which stems from a failure to perceive and to understand mercy, because their hearts are hard. That is, the rigid legalism with which they are interpreting the law and condemning his acts stems from a failure to perceive the reality of the Father, which is love. Here, he explores the condition of a hard or stony heart, and the notion of individual responsibility for the understanding of spiritual reality.

Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

I think it is important to take the paragraph above as a whole, and as it relates to previous readings and the notions expressed therein. Yesterday I noted the passage from John 3:8, comparing the Spirit to the wind: we can't know where it's going or where it comes from, but we can hear it and we can see its effects. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Jesus' use of the image of a tree and its fruit here is used to illustrate the notion of identity and the effects of Spirit within a person who has received it, or not. Earlier in Matthew (ch. 6:21), we have read that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." So all of this notion of treasure and the heart, and the fruits we bear out of that abundance is clearly tied in with his teachings about what we value in our hearts. Here, he ties in identity with what is in our hearts: it is what we choose to receive, which relationship in which we choose to participate that determines our fruit and our natures. For what we bring out of this abundance, we are responsible. Again, we return to themes of responsibility for spiritual revelation, spiritual power we have been exposed to. The presence of the holy confers upon us responsibility for our choices in response.

My study bible has a very helpful note on the traditional spiritual understanding of the heart which I will share here. "The heart (v. 35) in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, the source from which the whole of spiritual life proceeds. When grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts. When malice and evil capture the heart, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.’ But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!

The scribes and Pharisees respond by asking for proof. They want a clear sign that he is the Messiah. But they have failed to see the power of the kingdom or sense the grace that has been in their midst. Jesus refuses to work with those whose hearts are hardened, and caustically require proofs when there has been such an abundance of spiritual work done in their midst already. He is true to himself and to his mission, to the reality of that kingdom that has come near. He says there will be one sign -- the sign of Jonah, which alludes to his death and resurrection to come. Once again, as he has in previous readings, he compares "this generation" to those of the past, who did not have revealed to them the things that have happened among this people, and yet believed - or perhaps we should say, perceived; they were able to receive spiritual reality and understanding. This time he compares them to Ninevah, where the word of Jonah was received; and to the Queen of the South, who honored Solomon and his wisdom. The "adulterous generation" is a term familiar already from Old Testament scripture: it is the term of the prophets for the infidelity of Israel.

We come to understand, then, this perspective on the heart and what it will and will not receive. How do we keep an open heart - a heart open to spiritual understanding, and to love? In what ways do we understand Spirit as a reality which we are to receive? How do we cultivate a spiritual life and spiritual understanding, and with what notions do we pray for such? We who have been, in our times, exposed to so much - to so many teachers and literature - how do we cultivate the reception of grace in our hearts? If we stood as witness to the action of Spirit in some form, would we feel it, recognize it, receive it? And what does it mean that Jesus' "adulterous generation" sought a sign in terms of what we might seek today? We pray for understanding and insight, we ask that we might understand grace at work in our lives, and in our hearts.