Having Open Ears
Reflecting on the Third Sunday of Advent: Three Days after Sunday (Year C)
Scripture
Isaiah 11:1-9; Micah 4:8-13; Luke 7:31-35
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Prayer
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
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Reflection
“To what, then, will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.’
“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; 34 the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children” (Luke 7:31-35).
We human beings can be difficult to please. Particularly when we have our minds made up about something, we can be stubborn; and nothing anyone will say can convince us otherwise.
This is what Jesus is getting after in his little story about the marketplace. Children are playing together while parents shop and share the latest news. One group of young children really don’t want to play along.
The other group says, “Come on. Let’s play wedding. We’ll sing, and dance, and celebrate.” The other children respond, “We don’t feel like being happy today.”
“Well then, let’s pretend we’re at a funeral. Let’s get in procession and mourn the way we see the grownups cry and wail. Let’s shed tears and grieve.”
“No,” they say in response. “we don’t feel like being sad today.”
John came neither eating nor drinking, meaning he didn’t imbibe alcohol and he rejected sumptuous foods. Neither was he dressed in fine clothes. He preached a message of judgment and repentance. Everyone said he was crazy. Jesus, the Son of Man came eating and drinking, telling parables about celebrations, and the same people accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard. They already had their minds made up. It didn’t matter whom God sent. They already knew what they knew. There was nothing to be said or done that would convince them otherwise.
Jesus often ends his parables saying “Those who have ears to hear, Let them hear.” Jesus’ ministry was for all people, but he knew that unless people’s ears were receptive to the message, unless their eyes were open to seeing what was happening, nothing that was said or done would draw them in. It isn’t just about the one who speaks the message; it is also about one who receives it.
PRAYER: O God of the exiles and the lost, you promise restoration and wholeness through the power of Jesus Christ. Give us faith to live joyfully, sustained by your promises as we eagerly await the day when they will be fulfilled for all the world to see, through the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary).
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