Wisdom is justified by her children

"But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:

'We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned for you,
And you did not lament.'

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

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, i will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

- Matthew 11:16-24

On Saturday, we read Jesus' speech to the multitude after two disciples of John the Baptist came to ask Him, on behalf of the imprisoned John, "Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  As they departed, Jesus began to say 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 wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written:  'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.'  Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

"But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned for you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Jesus scolds the crowds, in this continued speech from Saturday's reading.  My study bible explains that the quoted verses are a reference to an ancient game played by Jewish children.  The children would gather into two groups:  those pretending to play musical instruments or singing, and the other group which responded appropriately by dancing or mourning.  "But in the case of John the Baptist and Jesus, their contemporaries -- especially the Jewish leaders -- refuse to respond to either one.  They accuse John of being too ascetic and Jesus of being too liberal, a friend of . . . sinners."

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, i will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."  My study bible tells us:  "Severe judgment is pronounced on Galilean cities where Jesus preached and healed, but the people not respond.  This happened in Chorazin, Bethsaida and most especially Capernaum.  Sodom, the greatest offender, will receive some lenience in the day of judgment, because that city never saw Jesus' mighty works.  'To whom much is given . . . much will be required' (Luke 12:48)." 

 Jesus clearly lays out what is to lead in our lives, in their lives -- the lives of this crowd to whom He speaks.  It's God that leads, or more appropriately to the context, wisdom.  In yesterday's reading, He vehemently questioned the crowds before Him, "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 wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet."  What did they expect to find, in John whom they now criticize for his lifestyle?  They found a prophet, and more than a prophet.  John they criticize, now that he is in prison, for his rough life, a ministry in the wilderness, preaching repentance.  He's a man who lived only for God, forgoing everything else -- and among the criticism, apparently they now claim he has a demon!  Jesus isn't the type of ascetic that John the Baptist was, and Him they criticize in the opposite way:  He drinks and eats, He dines with tax collectors and sinners.  They call Him a glutton and a winebibber.  But wisdom is justified by all her children!  Whatever John was, his ministry was a product of wisdom, of grace.  Whatever Jesus' ministry, it is led by God, by wisdom.  The analogy to the children's game, in which one group was supposed to follow the promptings of the other, tells us Jesus' point of view of this crowd, whose expectations are inflated beyond what God is giving them, what grace is living amongst them in the shape of the ministries of Jesus and of John.  They are childish in their demands and their petty criticisms, not seeing what is truly before them, not understanding with the wisdom that is on offer to them.  And hence, this speech of Jesus to the crowds becomes extended into the cities where others like them dwell.  These are cities in which "mighty works" have been done, powerful acts of grace, signs of God's presence and leading and teaching.  His analogy here is so powerful, His criticism so strong, that He tells them that even Sodom will receive more mercy and understanding, because Sodom did not have the grace that these cities have received.  The leading of God, the revelation of grace, wisdom at work, is a kind of gift that calls us to a place of great responsibility for what is being offered.  It's not we who shape grace, who shape the revelation of wisdom, of holiness.  It is something beyond us, and greater than us, One that does not conform to our expectations, but calls us into a state of greater understanding, beyond our own boundaries and wisdom -- into an awareness we didn't have before.  To refuse that awareness is to refuse the gift of grace.  To refuse that wisdom is to spurn God.  Jesus doesn't spare these crowds from criticism, any more than apparently the criticism both He and John the Baptist suffer from the crowds.  But He does call them to the powerful force at work among them, the seriousness of what they spurn even as great acts of God are done in their cities, in order to emphasize the reality of this choice.  It is God who leads, who calls us out of our own boxes and corners and boundaries, who leads us into wisdom if we can stretch our minds around what is on offer to us.  How do you take that gift?  How can your faith embrace both John and Jesus, who come in such different and unique packages, who both call us to something beyond them, to a kingdom of heaven in which there are many mansions?  How does holiness manifest among us, and which of us can dictate to wisdom?