GOSPEL POWER - DECEMBER 11, 2020 - 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT

Gospel: Mt 11:16-19 

Jesus said to the crowds, “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

REFLECTION

When one rejects any call to a change-of-heart and clings to the status quo, the easiest way to justify that rigid position is to show in a bad light the messenger-of-change, and thus destroy the credibility of the message. This is what the generation of Jesus and John are trying to do to avoid the inconvenience of reforming their lives. Jesus tells them that their attitude reveals that they are not attuned to God’s action in their history. The austerity of John’s lifestyle represents the right disposition of one who waits and prepares for God’s action of bringing forth the Kingdom into their midst. And Jesus’ festive disposition and openness toward the outcasts of society represent the arrival of the Kingdom in their midst. That generation risks being excluded from the Kingdom for failing to recognize and heed the prophet sent to prepare for its coming and God’s Son who brings it forth into their midst.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, help us to attune ourselves to God’s continuing action of ushering the Kingdom into our midst today. Amen.