In the Gospel, Jesus responds to the questions of the crowd who want to have a further sign of His spiritual authority. In reprimanding the crowd, Jesus draws their attention to the "sign of Jonah" as in the first reading. What Jesus is calling for is an inner transformation - not a change because of the external signs but a change from within so that the reign of God may live in the hearts of people.

Just as Jesus and Jonah called the people of their time to turn away from their sins and return to God, the invitation that He gives us today, especially during this season, is to return to God, which will result in a concrete change in our conduct. A change that calls for a radical reorientation of our way of loving and living will draw us closer to God and to the community around us. Getting closer to God is experienced in the ordinary situations of our life. One situation is the presence of the marginalized, the ordinary poor people of our times in our society. Getting to know them is to experience God's mercy and love in our life. Let this season of Lent be a time for us to make a change that will lead us through the path to the New Jerusalem and eventually to the experience of Jesus' resurrection.