Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 11: 16-19
Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The 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.”
FLOWING LIKE WATER: Flowing water is beneficial. It carries nutrients for fish; operates the hydro -power plants and makes the land fertile by depositing silt. Stagnant water however, becomes polluted and spreads pollution to the environment. The crowd mentioned in the gospel today are like stagnant water. They are not open for the new. They are afraid of being criticized and so they insulate themselves with arguments. To be healthy one needs to face new reality and keep flowing like a running stream. John the Baptist was not acceptable to them because he challenged them. They wanted to do away with Jesus. So they blamed him of being mad and possessed (Mk 3, 21-22) ; Jesus says that only out of those who believe in him, the rivers of living water would flow (John 7,38).
PRAYER: Lord, make me flow like a river today.
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LET HIS LIGHT SHINE UPON US: Isaiah speaks of a great spread God laid before His people. He portrays a wonderful scene of prosperity. “Then your prosperity would have been like a river” (Is 48:18). But there is a tone of sadness and a tinge of melancholy that this did not really happen. Jesus is confronted with a situation where his listeners refuse to pay attention. In any case they wouldn’t budge. They behave like certain politicians, “whoever is in power we are in the opposition”. They are stubbornly unresponsive and shrug off any invitation. Such a perverse section is hard to please. Our times are not different; People drunk with materialism and worldliness do no bother. The problem is that they just ignore the gentle call, a loving gesture from God to have a relook at their ways. May we break away from such addictions. May we turn softer and pay attention to the Lord’s invitation. May wisdom be our constant companion.
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BUT WISDOM IS VINDICATED BY HER WORKS: Have you come across people who give lame excuses when asked to do something? Behaving in a similar way, today’s audience failed to accept John the Baptist, and also fails to accept Jesus. This audience gives excuses no matter the person. Might I be one among those who give excuses no matter the situation? Jesus points out to this attitude of giving lame excuses. He is challenging us to have the wisdom to discern the presence of God in the signs of life, and to respond to God appropriately. Lack of response is a lethargy that leads to the Hebrew proverb, “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge, but you did not mourn.” We are gradually getting busier preparing for Christmas. Let this time awaken us from our spiritual lethargy – from a lack of response. Let us dance to the presence of God amidst us.
DAILY GOSPEL 