Jesus Laments

Today's Reflections

                                                                                   

 

 

Jesus Laments

Mt 11:16-19

[Jesus said to the crowds,] ¹⁶“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ¹⁷‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

We played the flute… We sang a dirge. Though many times dear to Jesus, children are cited here not for their goodness but for their fickleness and lack of maturity. The children make out two groups, each proposing different ways of entertainment to which the other does not agree. Hence, a frustrating and futile exercise which Jesus likens to that which the mission for God’s kingdom encounters. A group condemns Jesus for being too liberal in his teachings and ways, while another group criticizes John the Baptist for being too strict and harsh.

Therefore to work properly for God, seek only God’s will, not the pleasure of all.

How much do the opinions of others

influence and affect you?

Can you be nonconformist?

When do you usually find this necessary?