Scripture Reflection - December 11
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Readings: Isaiah 48: 17-19; Psalm 1: 1-2, 3, 4, 6; Matthew 11: 16-19
Our Gospel passage speaks of good and evil and wisely invites us to discernment and to give the right value to joy and sadness, as both can come from God and the tempter: joy can be true or false. Paraphrasing first a game that boys play, then an invitation to the wedding.
But Jesus unmasks the tricks of the evil one and makes all castles fall by showing himself to the "little ones", to those who make themselves like children (Mt 11,25-27), simple and naive, not malicious like adults (1 Cor 14:20). Whoever is in sin and error flees like Adam and feels ashamed but if in humility and not in pride one admits the limit the mercy of God forgives and works wonders because he loves us with the same love with which the father loves his son.
Jesus presents a mirror to his contemporaries. They can recognize themselves as stubborn children: others must dance as they want. Things have to go their way. Woe to anyone who does not respond to their ideas, or who does not fall into their already established categories, like Jesus! They exclude him from their society. Ultimately it is themselves that they harm in their stubbornness. These children are unable to play, they spoil the game by themselves.
Many times, we are like those wayward children: we don't know what we want, we don't want to make up our minds and excuses are many. The frequent temptation is to continually make different excuses to avoid accepting what comes to us from the Gospel. But the Word of God continues to take us by the hand So we can dispose our hearts for his coming, all of us who live in this time: the time has come to let ourselves be touched by Jesus, not to think only of ourselves, but to let ourselves be shaped by the newness and truth that Jesus brought with his birth. Advent leads us to a choice that must be made with a free heart, choosing not to do our will but His will, to come out of our self, choose to love and be loved exactly as we are.
Lord Jesus, we acknowledge Your divine presence in our lives and in the world all around us. Help us to be more attentive to the countless ways that You speak to us and come to us each and every day of our lives. Amen.
Blessed day!
Abba Meskel