PROOF OF THE PUDDING


"But 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.”

There are some of us who are unteachable. We are so locked into our own ideologies, we are not open to the truth (even though very often we claim to be open minded). And we find a reason to spurn anything that is presented to us, often without any recourse to logic.  This is what Jesus is talking about here, when he says something that sounds like a riddle: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” What did he mean? 

Let us break it down. Children are playing in the marketplace. A few begin to play wedding music but the others shout back, "No. We don't want to dance today." So the group plays funeral music, but the others shout, “No. We don’t want to act sad today.” There is no pleasing them; they will find fault no matter what. When John the Baptist appeared leading an austere life and inviting people to repentance they said he had a demon. Then, when Jesus appeared, inviting people to join him in celebrating the kingdom of God that was at hand, they accused him of being a glutton and drunkard. 

We find the same thing happening today. We want to hear only what we would like to hear. And when we don’t hear what we want to hear, not only do we close our hearts to the message of God, we hurl abuse at those who proclaim the message, finding fault with THEM. This is what the scribes and Pharisees did when they accused John of being possessed and Jesus of messianic pretense. But Jesus said, “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds”. 

Elsewhere, Jesus said that a tree was known by its fruit (see Luke 6:43-45). Or, if you prefer a more modern phrase, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” They all essentially mean that the real value of something can be judged only from results and not from appearance or theory. Although the scribes and Pharisees aren’t there to see it today, the ministries of John and Jesus are still impacting the world, while the former are a mere footnote in history.

So, let those of us who preach God’s word not worry about the unteachable; it is the others who matter. 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/90a3gZOZ1ps


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