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 to 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, it 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 that as John the Baptist's disciples 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 to 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 likens the response of the leadership (and the fickleness of the crowds who follow) to a popular children's game.  The children would divide into two groups; one pretending either to play musical instruments or sing, and the other responding in a way opposite of that which would have been expected.  Jesus draws a parallel to the leadership who responded with criticism both of John the Baptist as being too ascetic and to Jesus as being too liberal in mercy and joy.  And yet, as He pointed out in the reading from Saturday, they had all gone out to see John when he preached repentance in the wilderness (see Saturday's reading, above).  That wisdom is justified by her children teaches us once again to look at the fruits of ministry; they justify both John and Jesus, regardless of their different appearance and style.

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, it 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 says here that it is a far greater sin to have seen Christ's works and rejected Him than never to have known Him at all.

 In today's reading, we get Jesus' scathing remarks to those who reject ministry and the work of God in the world, and of wisdom.  They are like children playing and taunting, shallow and with no depth nor understanding.  And worse, there are those who have seen great works of power, and yet who still reject the message of the Kingdom.  It is an acknowledgement in the Gospel of rejection, of those who cannot accept what is within their midst.  Certainly Jesus is implicating the leadership, who seem focused only on criticism of surface appearances, and cannot see the substance and truth of what is happening, even if mighty works are done in their cities.  It's an indication of how deep rejection can go in the face of truth staring us in the face.  It's also a teaching to us about the kind of complacency that trusts only in our own self-interest, in our "places at the table."  Jesus touches on such a theme when He speaks scathingly of those in high places:  "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation" (Luke 20:46-47).  It comes down a question of what we put our trust into.  Do we go by the shallow surface of appearances, so easy to criticize and judge?  Or do we judge with good judgment?  Do we reach down into a place where we put our trust in something deeper, something into which our prayer life leads us?  Jesus teaches us to refrain from surface judgments, and not to judge by mere appearance (John 7:24).  In Matthew 7, Jesus has said, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" (7:1-3).  When judgment of others rests on surface appearances, it too often serves selfish ambition and complacency.  We avoid doing what we ought to be doing, practicing awareness of ourselves and our own state of mind and heart, and insist that we can ascribe motive to others without 'judging good judgment.'  The one way that Jesus teaches over and over to find good judgment is through the fruits of those who come to us as prophets of one thing and another:  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?" (7:15-16).  In today's reading, Jesus gives us a positive version of these statements when He refers to both John's and His own ministry:  "But wisdom is justified by her children."   He and John bear very little surface resemblance to one another, in many dimensions.  Jesus eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners; John is extremely ascetic, dedicated to a life of poverty in his love of God.  But both serve the same wisdom.  Many of my readers may be familiar with the great Byzantine cathedral called Haghia Sophia, or "Holy Wisdom," built in Constantinople in the sixth century and still standing.  In the Greek tradition, "Holy Wisdom" refers to Christ.  That is, the wisdom of the Lord who was at work in the world throughout the Old Testament foreshadowing Christ, and Incarnate as Jesus Christ in the New.  St. Paul also calls Christ "wisdom" (see 1 Corinthians 1:18-24).  In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for wisdom is feminine, and thus given a feminine article and pronoun.   Jesus is teaching us to grasp wisdom, to come to know it, and to know her children, no matter how varied and different they may seem to us.  It is only this way that we can practice "good judgment," to make discernment, and to understand the reality behind what we see.  Too often we are deceived by our own desires, our limited viewpoint, the fear of losing our own place, particularly in the eyes of the world.   It remains essential that we understand, in a world beset by images and bad judgment, and constant criticism tearing down all and sundry without thought, that we know that "wisdom is justified by her children."  This must be a part of our faith, that which we cling to, pray to, and in which we seek to participate in the life of Christ and the communion of saints.  There we begin, and there we find what is truly good for us, and for the world.