Vindication

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” (Matthew 11:16-19).

They just cannot be satisfied.  Writer George Martin says it best: “Those who reject John [the Baptist] and Jesus are like petulant children in the marketplace.  They will neither mourn with John nor dance with Jesus the bridegroom.  No matter whether the message is coming judgement or God’s mercy, they will not respond.”  In fact, they claimed John was possessed by a demon, and Jesus was a glutton and drunkard friendly with tax collectors and sinners.  Both were rejected by the crowd.

Martin continues: “Jesus is speaking of himself as the wisdom or agent of God who does the works of God.  These are the works that Jesus listed for the disciples of John the Baptist: ‘the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.’  Jesus is vindicated – shown to be God’s agent – by these works or results of his ministry.  He cannot be dismissed as a mere glutton and drunkard; those who reject him are rejecting God’s agent.”

This Advent we are not petulant children.  We respond and especially to God’s mercy by giving and sharing with those in need.  Jesus’ works are our works, and as a result, we also are vindicated and cannot be dismissed by those who might wonder want we Catholics strive to do in preparation for Christmas.  Are we about tinsel and shopping, or about sacrifice and healing?   It must be the latter.

Deacon David Pierce