Wisdom is justifed by all her children

Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."

When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written:

'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.'

For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

'We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by all her children."

- Luke 7:18-35

In yesterday's reading, Luke's Gospel told us stories of two different people, the centurion who was beloved in Capernaum and the widow who had lost her son. In previous readings, we had just read Jesus' Sermon on the Plain, which contained the messages we're told of Jesus' preaching all through His ministry, exemplified also in the Sermon on the Mount. In the stories of the centurion and the widow, we are given these preachings exemplified - how this ministry is for the high and the low, the powerful and the powerless, and how each can fulfill those teachings and come to Christ, through humility, compassion and faith. In yesterday's commentary, I remarked on this great "equalizing" or "leveling" of Christ's ministry, and how it reminded me of John the Baptist's preaching to "make His paths straight." See I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! In today's reading, John the Baptist sends a question to Jesus, and Jesus speaks to all about John.

Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" My study bible notes, "John had been imprisoned shortly after he baptized Jesus. He probably has not heard Jesus teach, nor seen His many miracles. John also anticipates that Jesus will judge at His first coming, whereas Jesus comes to save and heal. John's question indicates either a desire to obtain secure knowledge or an intent to guide his own disciples to Jesus. Christ answers the question indirectly by pointing to His miraculous messianic deeds."

When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." As my study bible noted, the deeds Jesus does are a crucial part of the answer to John the Baptist. These are signs - they point to something beyond themselves, a power of God the Father at work. But the message He sends has more to it, something deeper: it echoes the prophecies of Isaiah concerning "the Coming One." To be "offended" may also be translated as "caused to stumble." So, we have intertwined here many messages of prophecy and their fulfillment in the life of Jesus.

When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.' For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." My study bible notes, "Christ recognizes John as the greatest prophet. John belongs to the period of the Old Covenant; the Kingdom of God is inaugurated through Christ. The New Covenant so far surpasses the old that the least in the kingdom is greater than John." The quotation ("Behold, I send My messenger...") refers to prophecies of both Isaiah and Malachi. The message concerning the Baptist is clear: his identity, as is Christ's, is bound up with the lineage of prophecy concerning "the Coming One" and the messenger who will precede Him. John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness and is now in prison, lived a life of severe poverty and strictness in his personal rule of humility. Here, Jesus asks the crowds what they expected - a soft person? One used to luxury and pampering? Those are found only in kings' courts. But John is not only a prophet; he is, in fact, the greatest of the prophets. He is a picture of a holy man. But even those who are the least of the kingdom are still "greater" than he.

And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. A note reads: "Luke makes a blunt observation: anyone who rejected the baptism of John is out of step with the will of God. Such a spurning by the Pharisees and the lawyers indicates a hardness of heart and no receptivity to the grace of the Kingdom of God. It is a sobering thought that some today reject the baptism of Christ." I can't help but remark on this vision of the "wild man" of the wilderness, the one who lived in such poverty, presented by Christ as the greatest prophet. John the Baptist baptized many for repentance, including those excluded from the group considered "good" - even the tax collectors, and, we recall from our earliest reading about John the Baptist, the soldiers (who served Rome). Those left out are the ones who feel they needed no repentance, no baptism of such - those who perhaps are offended by the roughness of John, who does not belong in a king's court, and is instead in a king's prison.

And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by all her children." A note reads: "This verse describes an ancient game which children played in two groups; here one group would not cooperate, neither dancing nor weeping. Similarly, as was true of the Pharisees and scribes, unregenerate religious people will neither dance nor weep! John the Baptist is to them a stern ascetic; Jesus, 'a glutton and a winebibber' (v. 34)." We recall the criticism of Jesus for dining with Matthew/Levi. In the ancient game, the two groups of children would mime: one playing music so the other dances, then mourning so the other weeps. Jesus is chastising the critics, claiming that their demands are childish, and their criticism unjust and without merit. I find the phrase "Wisdom is justified by all her children" particularly of importance, because it tells us that we are not to predict what forms Wisdom takes in the world, what the work of the Spirit must look like.

We cannot set limits on God. We cannot define God, nor set limits for God's work in the world. In the analogy of the children's game that Jesus describes, it is the critics who seek to define or command God's work in the world, the acts of Wisdom (another name for Christ, and a gift of the Holy Spirit) - something they cannot do. It is similar to Jesus' teaching that the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. These critics have it backwards, and would hold all power for themselves to define or proscribe God and God's work in the world - "but wisdom is justified by all her children." ("Wisdom" is sofia/σοφια in the Greek, a feminine word.) The works of wisdom in the world proclaim their own reality, their own outcomes - and thus she is "justified by all her children." It is not the critics who justify - they cannot set limits on God and what God's work will do and create in the world. I find that I run into this problem quite a lot in life. Many people I know seem to say what they expect of something or someone that is holy or acts in holiness. This includes both things God would or should do, and things God wouldn't or shouldn't do. How do we know how the Holy Spirit will work? How can we define, proscribe, or set limits on God? This is to view the world and creation upside down. In describing the effects of baptism, rebirth in Spirit, to Nicodemus, Jesus taught, "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (Spirit in the Greek is pneuma/πνευμα, which can also mean "wind" - or "breath," "soul," "spirit.") God is not circumscribed by our thinking; it is we who must be open to the teachings of God in our midst, the holy when it manifests. How will your eyes be open to this? Can you accept this faith? This gift?