THE WORD
Is 48,17-19 / 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 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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
A plumber came to x the faucet in a house with a dog, Dexter, and a parrot. The lady owner had warned him not talk to the parrot. But irritated by the parrot’s yelling, cursing and name calling, the plumber shouted: “Shut up, you stupid, ugly parrot!” To which, the parrot replied: “BITE HIM, DEXTER, BITE HIM.” The moral of the story is we should listen carefully whatever others tell us.
Today’s gospel reading is about listening to what God is saying to us. Jesus got angry with the crowd for not understanding the signs and not listening to His Message. He compared them to children in the market place who complained to their playmates: “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.”
Why do many fail to listen to God’s message? First, rationalization. When John came neither eating nor drinking, they said, “He is possessed by a demon.” When the Son of Man came eating and drinking, they said, “Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
If we do not want to hear what God is saying, we can easily rationalize and look for many alibis. Second, being close-minded. We tend to see God according to our standards and biases and fail to realize that God can speak to us though different media and agents. Third, our lack of faith. No matter how God exhausts all possible means of communicating his message to us if we don’t have faith in Him, His message of love will never reach our heart.
Like the parrot in the story, let us not be disturbed by the many distractions that block God’s message to us. Let us not rationalize; let us open our hearts, and have full trust in Him. In this way, we can listen devotedly to God’s message of hope and love.
- Fr. Generoso Rebayla, Jr., SVD | USC, Cebu City
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
