Wisdom is justified 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 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

 Yesterday, we read that after Jesus finished preaching the Sermon on the Plain (see the readings of Friday, Saturday, and Monday), He entered Capernaum.  And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.  So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.  And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue."  Then Jesus went with them.  And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.  Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You.  But say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"  And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.  Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.  And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow.  And a large crowd from the city was with her.  When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."  Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still.  And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."  So he who was dead sat up and began to speak.  And He presented him to his mother.  Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and "God has visited His people."  

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 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."  My study bible tells us that John was imprisoned soon after Jesus was baptized (Mark 1:14).   Although John had earlier directed his disciples to follow Christ (John 1:29-31, 35-37), some remained with him.  Certainly the faith of John the Baptist was strengthened by signs that Christ performed.  Universally, Church Fathers interpret this encounter between his disciples and Christ as a means used by John to convince his remaining disciples that Jesus was truly the Coming One.

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."   Jesus vigorously defends John to the crowds, allying Himself fully with him.  He quotes from the prophecy of Malachi 3:1.  My study bible notes that although John the Baptist was the greatest prophet, his earthly life and ministry remained in the period of the old covenant.  The new covenant so far surpasses the old that the least in the kingdom is greater than the greatest outside of it.   John of course is considered a saint, a part of the Kingdom, but his life on earth came before something far superior.

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.   This puts of in mind of the events in Mark 11:27-33, in which Jesus successfully challenged the leadership in the temple when they confronted Him about His authority.  He simply asked them by what authority John baptized, and they were afraid to answer Him in front of the temple, who regarded John as a true holy man of Israel.

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!'"  Jesus refers to a children's game.  It was played in two groups:  one pretending to be musicians, and the other would respond appropriately to whatever music they "played," for dancing or for mourning.  My study bible says that the Pharisees were so rigid in their religion that they were unable to respond and engage the world around them.  They reject John as too mournful and ascetic.  Christ is rejected for being too merciful and joyous.

"But wisdom is justified by all her children."   Although both John and Jesus are rejected by the Pharisees, they are both justified.  Justification comes not from the opinions of the world, but rather by their children, whom my study bible says are those who would come to believe and be faithful.

John and Jesus come into the world, each with their own ministries, each with different practices and outward appearances, and yet both work for the Kingdom.  Both are justified by wisdom's children!  In Jesus' vision of righteousness, we witness a great truth that unifies those who serve God.  John was an extreme ascetic, living in the wilderness, and fasting, totally dependent upon God.  His method was baptism for repentance, a preparation for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ.  He directed His disciples to Jesus.  Jesus comes as Bridegroom, joyous, eating, drinking, attending feasts in the home of tax collectors, joyous at their reception into the Kingdom via faith (see this reading).  Even one of His hand-picked apostles, Matthew (called Levi by Luke) is a tax collector.  This is scandalous to the Pharisees, and seemingly far away from the asceticism of John.  But wisdom is justified by all her children.  ("Wisdom" in the Greek is Sophia, a feminine word.)  John baptized even tax collectors, instructing them on righteous behavior even in doing their particular jobs, as he did to soldiers, and all who came to him for baptism (see this reading).  Jesus comes to receive those who come to repentance, calling Himself a Physician in His defense to the Pharisees; that is, one who heals those who are sick -- and calls sinners to repentance.  John and Jesus could not be more different in their practices, and yet they are allied in the Kingdom.    They both are serving God.  Moreover, each is justified by the children of wisdom who follow.  What are we to understand by that?  In the work of the Holy Spirit, we have myriads of saints, each serving the Kingdom in their own way, by virtue of their own talents and capabilities, their personae and their experience.  None are the same.  Our faith is not about a legalistic perspective on rules and behavior; rather it is all about true wisdom, the work of the Spirit, God in the world.  That is a far more complex reality than we can put together.  It is not simplistic but rather works through diverse means so varied and so myriad in God's creativity that the only way to discern is through children, through the fruits of what is good.  We are limiting our faith and we are limiting God if we assume that each holy person is going to look identical, or that wisdom only works in particular ways which we expect and categorize and narrow down to a particular set of rules.  This is why our faith practices include worship which welcomes mystery, and the things we don't know, the God we can't contain.  How else could one recognize both John and Christ within the same continuum of faith?  How do we see that the prophets coming before Christ prophesied Christ?  Our connection with each isn't merely through a set of rules or shared values, but it is entirely spiritual and permeating all of our lives and all we do.  That is because the work of God takes place within us, in the heart as Jesus keeps saying to those who will listen.  Our connection with the holy and with His Kingdom comes through our own relation to God, our own welcome of God's work within us.  This does not mean we are all autonomous individuals with our own agendas and goals. Rather, what it means is that through the infinite diversity of God and God's creative gifts of grace to the world, we can each play our part in this Body of Christ, just as both John and Jesus as Son of Man do.  We are invited to participate in this work of the great Physician, to learn what we each do with the talents God has given us, whatever they are.  We are not all meant to be cookie cutters of one another; we are meant to carry the image of Christ in His grand and infinite potential as Creator, and we cannot limit that.  We can only seek to find the way He calls us, so that we too may be His children.