Luke 7:31-35

1 Timothy 3:14-16

Psalm 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Luke 7:31-35

Jesus said to the crowds:

“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?

What are they like?

They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.

We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,

and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,

‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, open my ears to hear the songs of repentance and joy. Teach me to be sorrowful for my sins and to rejoice in your gracious mercy. Guide me to weep and mourn at the appropriate times and to dance and shout for joy.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Judging John and Jesus: In the Gospel, Jesus points out how people criticize both him and his predecessor, John the Baptist. It is a reminder of how quickly we judge someone, label them, and dismiss them. Jesus doesn’t say directly, “Stop judging me for eating with people you deem as public sinners. I’m trying to win them over and bring them from a life of sin to a life of divine grace and virtue.” Instead, Jesus uses his preferred method of teaching, parables and comparisons. He calls to mind the image of children sitting in the marketplace, inviting each other to either dance for joy or weep with sorrow. Jesus compares John the Baptist to a child in the marketplace, who invites the other children to weep by singing a funeral dirge to them. This accords with John’s message of conversion and the invitation to be baptized in the Jordan River while confessing one’s sins. Jesus compares himself to a child who invites the other children to dance by playing the flute. This accords with Jesus’ words and actions, such as attending wedding feasts and dining in the homes of public sinners like Matthew the tax collector. He points out the hypocrisy of the people, who claimed that John, because of his strange way of life, was possessed by a demon, and who claimed that Jesus, because he associated with tax collectors and sinners, is a lover of the good life and a drunkard and glutton.

2. True Wisdom: Jesus concludes his comparison with the line, “Wisdom is vindicated by her children.” Wisdom is divine, and we share in divine wisdom only because God gives it to us as a gift. We struggle to attain philosophical wisdom and see creation as caused by God and ordered to God. The wisdom that is a gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to judge things rightly and see things in the light of God’s eternity. “Saying that wisdom is vindicated by all her children conveys the message that God’s plan is shown to be right by those who embrace it: the results of accepting God’s way show that God’s way is the right way. Those who listened to John and Jesus and heeded their messages are a living demonstration of the righteousness of God (verse 29)” (Martin, Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, 206-207). The truly wise one will welcome both John’s message of repentance and conversion from sin and Jesus’ message of mercy, joy, and salvation.  

3. The Church as the Household of God: In the First Reading, Paul teaches Timothy that ministry “is not just jobs to be done; it is a sacred service to God’s household and the mystery of his revelation” (Montague, First and Second Timothy, Titus, 85). Paul compares the Church in Ephesus and the community of believers to a household. The Church is like an extended family bonded together by the Spirit and the New Covenant. Each of its members has different roles and functions. “Although the whole world belongs to God, the Church is his house, his sanctuary (1 Cor 3:16), and those who live there are the householders or family members ‘of the faith’ (Gal 6:10) or of God (also Eph 2:19)” (Montague, First and Second Timothy, Titus, 85). Paul compared the Church to a household instead of a temple, possibly because in Ephesus, there was a great temple dedicated to the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. By calling the new people of God the “church,” Paul is evoking the “assembly of the Lord” in the desert. Just as the people of Israel were called out of the land of darkness and slavery into covenant union with the Lord, so also the people, who share in the death and resurrection of Christ, have been called out of the slavery and darkness of sin into the New Covenant and familial union with the Triune God.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, bring me along the way of wisdom, the way of love, and the way of joy. Grant me your Spirit so that I may see all things in a divine light, do all things urged by divine charity, and spread the joy of divine life in you.

Living the Word of God: Do I see my local parish as a household and family of God? Do I even know the names of my fellow parishioners? What can I do to truly live this truth that they are my brothers and sisters in Christ?