And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." 

 

- Matthew 11:1–6 

 

Yesterday we read that, while Jesus was speaking to the scribes who criticized Him, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  The lectionary skips over chapter 10 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  In that chapter, Jesus chose the twelve disciples who would become apostles.  He taught then how to conduct themselves, what to say to people they encountered.  He warned the of persecutions to come, and the role Christians will play in the world.  He taught them about the dissension that would come about because of Him.  He taught them to fear God above all.  

 

   And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  According to patristic understanding, my study Bible says, John the Baptist asks this question in order to guide his own disciples to Jesus.  John's own faith would be in turn strengthened through the response of Jesus in the next few verses.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  According to my study Bible, the prophet Isaiah predicted that these signs would accompany the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; 61:1).  It notes that Jesus performed these miracles in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:21) so that they could see with their own eyes the works that only the Messiah could do.  

In Matthew chapter 10 (just prior to today's reading), in instructing and preparing the disciples for their first apostolic mission, Jesus closes with these words:  "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."  In today's reading, after speaking to John the Baptist's disciples, Jesus says, "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."   He is speaking of the holy power that accompanies these activities, and its mysterious working that has to do with judgment and eschatological perspective.   Moreover, in speaking with the disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus speaks referring to Himself in a sense as a stumbling block, when He says that those who are not offended because of Him are blessed.  There is an acknowledgement and reward system at work here behind all of these encounters with anything blessed with Christ's power, or which acts as an icon of Christ in a sense.  Even a cup of cold water given to one of these little ones (the least powerful among the faithful) will by no means lose its reward.  So Jesus' message to John is one that affirms His place as Messiah, the One for whom John's mission was meant to prepare the world.  In this understanding of who Jesus is, then, John the Baptist finds his fulfillment and affirmation, even as he approaches the end of his life.  John the Baptist has alluded to this in chapter 3 of John's Gospel, when he says, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (John 3:29).  Christ, in our recent readings, spoke of Himself as the Bridegroom with his friends (in this reading), and John the Baptist is another one of the friends of the Bridegroom.  In Christ's voice, then, is John's joy fulfilled, a fulfillment of true identity and meaning -- his place, because in Christ all things are revealed as they truly are.  Here Jesus sends word ("the voice of the bridegroom") via John's disciples so that John may in turn direct them to Christ, and find in Him the fulfillment of mission and ministry.  As Christ is the Alpha and Omega, so may we all find who we are, and where we belong in Him.

 

 

And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." 

 

- Matthew 11:1–6 

 

Starting with Monday's reading, we have been given Christ's address to the Twelve as He sent them out on their first apostolic reading.  Yesterday we read that Jesus said to them, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.  He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward." 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  My study Bible comments here that, according to the Church Fathers, John the Baptist asks this question in order to guide his own disciples to Jesus.  Moreover, it notes, John's own faith was undoubtedly also strengthened through Christ's response that follows.  

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."   My study Bible affirms Isaiah's prediction that these signs would accompany the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5, 61:1).  Jesus' reference to these signs prophesied by Isaiah is fully meaningful to John the Baptist.  My study Bible adds that Jesus performed these miracles in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:21) so they could see with their own eyes works that only the Messiah could do.

 

Jesus tells the disciples of John, "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  We have to ask ourselves why people would be offended at Christ.  There is first of all the notion that people did not want to accept what kind of Messiah He was.  He was not coming in the likeness of a great king like King David, to restore the fortunes of Israel.  He did not have an army, and was not prepared to overthrow the Romans in a political battle.  He would not give "proofs" on demand of His identity, nor produce miracles simply to please people or their expectations.  Rather, He came in the likeness of an ordinary Man, one without great wealth or position, and one without conventional authority.  All of these various aspects of Christ's identity were in some way offensive to various groups of people, and particularly to the religious leadership, who continually questioned His authority and where it came from.  Perhaps the greatest reason for offense was precisely this question of authority, and simply because Christ's authority came from God, and not from worldly sources, like a high position in the temple, or a lineage that Christ would claim for Himself openly.  Instead, Christ's authority was recognized only by faith, by something that responded to God within the hearts of those who would receive Him.  He came in humility, and yet led an astonishing life of ministry.  But still, it takes faith to receive and recognize Him, it takes a true love of God in the heart to receive, a heart open to the spirit of God.  That mysterious question of faith will come up continually, again and again.  Who are the ones not offended because of Him?  This remains a question even for today. 

 

 

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 when Jesus had concluded His Sermon on the Plain in the hearing of the people, 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 am also 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."  And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. 

 

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 notes that John the Baptist was imprisoned soon after Jesus was baptized (Mark 1:14).  Although John directed his disciples to follow Christ (John 1:29-31, 35-37), there were those who remained with him.  While John's own faith was strengthened by Christ's signs, my study Bible says, in patristic commentary this encounter is universally viewed as a means used by John to convince his remaining disciples that Jesus was indeed the Coming One.  Just as John proclaimed himself to be the "voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Luke 3:3-6, Isaiah 40:3-4), Jesus here responds to John by echoing to the words of Isaiah regarding the time of the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6).

 

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.  As both John and Jesus have echoed prophesy in expressing their identity, here Jesus turns to the prophesy of Malachi (Malachi 3:1) to proclaim the identity of John to the multitudes. My study Bible notes that although John was the greatest prophet, his earthly life and ministry remained in the period of the old covenant.  It says that the new covenant so far surpasses the old that the least in the kingdom is greater than the greatest outside it.  This does not imply that John will not be resurrected to the Kingdom, but only that his life on earth came before something far superior.  Regarding the Pharisees and lawyers, see Christ's response to the temple authorities concerning John the Baptist in Luke 20:1-8.

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."  My study Bible explains that this was a game which children would play in two groups.  One group would mimic musicians, and the other one would refuse to respond appropriately to the type of music that was played -- for mourning or dancing.  It notes that the Pharisees were so rigid in their religion that they were unable to respond to and engage the world around them.  Therefore, they rejected John as being too mournful and ascetic, and Christ as being too merciful and joyous.  But in spite of being rejected by the Pharisees, both John and Christ are justified -- not by the opinions of human beings, but by their children.  That is, by those who would come to believe and be faithful.  

How do we know whose children we are?  In various places in the New Testament, we're reminded that to be a child of someone means that we behave as they did, we think like they did, we do things like they did.  Perhaps ironically, considering the theme of today's reading, both John the Baptist and Jesus used such terms in chastising the religious leadership.  John the Baptist preached to the multitudes, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones" (Luke 3:8).  In John's Gospel, Jesus says similarly to the Pharisees, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father" (see John 8:39-41).  In becoming children by adoption, we are encouraged to realize that we are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27).  Therefore, we are to become more "like" Christ.    In the Sermon on the Plain, which we've just read through in Luke's Gospel, Jesus teaches, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40), and He teaches to "love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:35-36).  The teaching is clear, that to be a "child" of someone is to become "like" them, to grow in their image.  This, for Christ, is discipleship, and how we are to grow in likeness so that we are known as God's children, "sons of the Most High."   But, as the lesson from today's reading makes clear, we must also have insight to understand this.  The rigid legalism of the Pharisees only condemns by outward appearance, and do not recognize the godly elements in both John and Jesus, the wisdom that is at work in their ministries, as different as they may seem in outward expressions of their love of God.  Jesus is the Bridegroom who feasts with His friends while He is in the world, whose friends will fast later (see Luke 5:34-35).  John is the great ascetic, whose life is devoted to nothing but the love of God, and preaches repentance to the world in preparation for the Christ (Matthew 3:1-6).  What is striking in today's reading is the loyalty Jesus shows to John in defending him so vigorously to the Pharisees.  Similarly, He defends His disciples in public when He encounters them involved in a dispute, but later corrects them in private (Matthew 17:13-21).  When the disciples discover someone not of their group casting out demons in Christ's name, He tells them, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side" (see Luke 9:49-50).  What Jesus shows us in these examples is a brotherhood that exists between all believers, that all children of God (or "sons of the Most High") are united in a kind of love that supersedes easy judgment by appearance.  When we look at the whole history of saints in the Church, we see a plethora of personalities, actions, those from a myriad of walks of life, and every country where there are faithful -- and a multitude unknown to us also.  We must be united in this desire to be "like God" but in the ways that God calls each.  For that we need the discernment of a loving heart that has already wrestled with one's own faith and errors, survived correction, and earnestly seeks the way of Christ -- even in how we approach those not of our nominal flock.  To be like Christ is to seek to recognize all of wisdom's children. 

 

 

 

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 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Plain the hearing of the people, 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 am also 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."  And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

 

  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."  My study bible tells us that John the Baptist was imprisoned soon after Jesus was baptized (Mark 1:14).  Although John had directed his disciples to follow Christ (John 1:29-31, 35-37), some remained with him.  While John's own faith was undoubtedly strengthened by the signs Christ performed, the Fathers universally see this particular encounter as a means John used to convince his remaining disciples that Jesus was indeed 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."   My study bible remarks here that although John was the greatest prophet, his earthly life and ministry remained in the period of the old covenant.  It says that the new covenant so far surpasses the old that the least in the kingdom is greater than the greater outside of it.  This doesn't imply that John will not be resurrected to the Kingdom, but simply that 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.  See Mark 11:27-33, in which Jesus tests the Pharisees and lawyers regarding the authority of the baptism of John.

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 compares the Pharisees and lawyers to children playing a common game in the marketplace.  The children would play this game in two groups.  One group would mimic musicians, either playing music for dancing or lamentations for mourning.  The other group would refuse to respond properly to the music being played.  My study bible comments that the Pharisees were so rigid in their religion that they were unable to respond to and engage the world around them.  So, like the children complaining to their playmates, they condemned John as being too mournful and ascetic, and Christ as being too merciful and joyous.

.

"But wisdom is justified by all her children."  My study bible comments that, in spite of being rejected by the Pharisees, both John and Christ are justified, not by the opinions of men, but by their children, those who would come to believe and be faithful.  

Jesus says, "But wisdom is justified by all her children."  My study bible points out that this expression describes those who would come to believe and be faithful through the ministries of Jesus and of John the Baptist.  Of course that is correct, we can see the outcome of the faithful in those who first follow John and prepare for Christ.  But we can also think of children in yet another metaphorical way, and that would be in a way similar to the way we think of fruits or fruitfulness.  The "children of wisdom" can be all those things that are the products of saintly lives, the outcomes unseen and yet extending so far into history that they continue to have repercussions and make waves around us even now, 2,000 years later.  As each of us reads the Gospel, and the stories of the highly ascetic John, and of Jesus who celebrates in joy with His disciples (including tax collectors), so in our own lives the ripples of the wisdom through these very different men make a difference to us.  They teach us.  In this way, they continue to produce "children."  They influence us.  They cause us to reflect on our own lives.  Even their very unique individualism -- that is, their basic human personae magnified through the presence of God (and in Jesus' case, obviously, this is of an entirely different order than any other human being) -- call us to consider how every saint embodies wisdom somehow in a mysterious synergy with God that magnifies persona, stretches and purifies whatever that person brings to the table or starts with in their lives, to create in them another "child of wisdom."  So, every saint might be considered another child of wisdom, a product of faith and the knowledge of God.  Jesus does us all a tremendous favor by likening the contrast between Himself and John the Baptist, and the varied complaints about them from the religious leadership, to the children playing games -- who both complain that their fellows are on the one hand too somber and serious, and on the other too joyful.  Because in this powerful statement and image, Jesus is giving us an understanding that God works through all.  It doesn't matter the form one comes in, the baggage from home, the way we're born, our quirks or what we consider our failures, our talents, our character:  each individual dynamic effect will be made part of that "child of wisdom" God will make through the mysterious working of faith, prayer, participation in the life of Christ and therefore the wisdom of God.  That outcome that justifies wisdom (in Jesus' words) is not predicted by us, not put together in some abstract form of what we think saintliness is like, but is a product of the completely immeasurable and unpredictable life of God as God works through us.  This will always break our boundaries and expectations because God has a purview that is so far beyond ours.  God has a perspective and plan that is something we can't possibly contain, so we may only find out later what possibilities are developed through our faith life, and the outworkings of God in us.  Just as Jesus and John the Baptist continue to produce children and fruits of faith and wisdom, so we may also enter into that long stream of faithful spiritual children, who go on in turn to influence and possibly illumine others by carrying and reflecting the light of Christ (Matthew 5:14-16).  But the great power of God, far beyond our ability to categorize and dictate, is simply that wisdom is justified by all her children.  That is, all her children, no matter how varied, different, separated by place and time or temperament and training.  We all have this capacity to be children of wisdom.  Let us look to Christ to fashion us in His faith, for He is ultimately the true Holy Wisdom, who fashions so many varied multitudes into one body in His Kingdom of many mansions.  To be capable of embracing the great variety of saints, and the varied ways of Christ, is just one more aspect of how each is blessed "who is not offended because of Me."

Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?

John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God," by Olga Dytyniak

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."

- Matthew 11:1-6

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus has been giving instructions to the Twelve whom He is about to send out on their first apostolic mission.  Yesterday we read that He taught:  "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who dos not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.  He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"   My study bible notes that according to Church Fathers, John the Baptist asks this question so that he may guide his own disciples to Christ.  It adds that John's own faith was undoubtedly strengthened as well because of Jesus' response.  Notice the "symmetry"   John is in prison, and Christ has just sent the disciples on their first apostolic mission.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."   Jesus directs John's disciples to the things which are occurring in His ministry, the signs predicted by Isaiah as those which would accompany the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 61:1).   My study bible comments that Jesus performed these miracles in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:20-21) so that they can see with their own eyes the works that only the Messiah could do.

There is a kind of "hand off" in today's reading.  John the Baptist is in prison (where he will be beheaded by Herod Antipas), and he has sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the Coming One, the Messiah.  In the presence of John's disciples, Jesus performs those wondered prophesied as accompanying the coming of the Messiah.  This happens just as Jesus is sending out the Twelve on their first apostolic mission to preach and to heal.  John the Baptist is considered to be the last in the line of Old Testament style prophets, so in today's reading we are seeing the gospel, a new covenant, branching out and expanding, as the old is ending.  Those who follow John have a place to go, Christ to look to for their direction and their future.  There is no one left out of this spreading of grace at work in the world; the transition of the old to the new does not exclude anyone.  Even as Jesus has said He has not come to destroy, but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), so the disciples of John -- via John's question to Jesus -- now are guided to Christ.  In fact, the Gospels tell us that several of Christ's earliest disciples were first followers of John the Baptist (see John 1:35-42).  What this tells us is of the spreading work of the gospel, the kingdom of heaven at work in the world.  It doesn't eliminate the good of the past (in any tradition), but rather unfolds and expands the spiritual truth "kept secret from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 13:35; Psalm 78:2).  Christ, the One who is both human and divine, the One who will ascend even with human nature glorified, will expand our spiritual understanding of God who is love and at the same time our own understanding of the spiritual capacities of human beings for communion and participation in God's grace.  He will live His life so that we may participate in that "life in abundance" that He will offer (John 10:10).  He has characterized His ministry as that of wineskins that must be new to expand with new wine (see this reading).  Today we read about that expansion, even as He is sending out the disciples to spread His ministry via the power of grace which He has shared and distributes through them.

Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me

Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:   The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." 

- Matthew 11:1-6

On Saturday we read that while Jesus was speaking to John's disciples, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  And the report of this went out into all that land.

Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  The lectionary skips over several verses in chapter 9, and also chapter 10, in which the disciples are sent out on their first apostolic mission and Jesus preaches extensively about the nature of His mission on earth (see these texts here).  We note first of all about today's reading that John the Baptist is in prison.  According to patristic teaching, John the Baptist sends his disciples to ask this question so that he may guide his disciples to Jesus.  Undoubtedly, John' own faith was strengthened through Christ's response.  As we note also, in chapter 10, Jesus has just sent out His apostles on their first mission, also extensively teaching them what the mission of the Church will be like.  It is a time of transition, a new covenant, as exemplified in Christ's response to John's disciples in Saturday's reading, above.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:   The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  These signs were predicted to accompany the coming of the Messiah by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1).  Jesus performed these miracles, my study bible says, in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:20-21), so that they could see with their own eyes works that only the Messiah could do.

Coupled with our previous reading (above, in which Jesus preaches to John's disciples about the need for new wineskins to hold new wine), we get a taste of what is happening, a shift in history, an intervention in time that is a bold revelation of God's work in the world.  Christ comes into time as the divine/human "Theanthropos" (to use the theological term for our Messiah who is both God and human).  The Logos becomes Incarnate in order to intervene in a world under the power of the evil one.  Patristic teachings conclude that whether or not our world had been a "fallen" one, the Incarnation of Christ would have taken place.  Our Lord and Creator condescends to us from love, and in so doing brings Himself in order to heal and bring us closer to Him.  John the Baptist is considered the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, and Jesus' word to his disciples conveys the idea that the time of the Messiah has come, the fulfillment of prophecy is at hand.  We live in the time Christ announces has come, and so we still keep in mind what it is that we serve and the faith in which we seek to live.  It is a time of healing and correction:  "The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."   It is essential that we keep in mind this mission, because it is ongoing.  The ministry of Christ is here to heal.  But what that means is that we take note, in our world, of what needs healing.  We should keep in mind that Christ did not come simply to "fix" everything, but to invite us into this struggle of a change of leadership, so to speak.  He is Liberator, but we still live in a world awaiting a judgment, in which its prince is still effective in seeking to hold captive, to blind, to make lame and ill and deaf, and most particularly to inhibit life.  From the earliest apostolic teachings, we are given a contrasting way of life and a way of death (see for example, the Didache, the oldest known teaching document in the Church).  In Judaism also, there existed this tradition.  But what we as moderns tend to lose sight of is that all of this spiritual battle cannot simply be fixed by what we think of as progressive advances.  Christ as the Person who is Truth, as Logos, certainly gives us the impetus for a search for truth, for an improvement in all forms of healing the ailments of the world.  But separately from our spiritual source of light, how do we use and implement whatever material tools we have in the world?  Abstraction alone cannot give us spiritual wisdom and insight.  Most of all, our own limitations still apply.  We need to seek what it is we don't know, and the help available to us.  We remain with our blindness and limitations, and we remain distinctly human as the examples in the Gospels constantly remind us of all we need to learn and how we need to grow, especially in wisdom, just as the disciples do.  Let us consider that our Liberator seeks our participation in His spiritual battle, with the weapons of prayer, love, and virtue -- and the power of faith -- as those we need for His mission for us.  The theologian Fr. John Anthony McGuckin writes, "When Truth is a living person, we can  no longer try to make it synonymous with mere accuracy."  In other words, through our faith, we are given a fullness of truth in which we seek to participate and which will always pull us forward into what we do not yet know, in which truth also embodies the good and the beautiful.  Rational abstraction cannot give us such a mission, but only Christ the Logos who has become one of us can do so; and through our faith this mission continues now.

Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of is disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." 

- Matthew 11:1-6

Throughout chapter 10 of Matthew's gospel, Jesus has chosen the twelve and is preparing them for their first mission.  In yesterday's reading, He told them:  "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.    He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.  He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of is disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  According to the Church Fathers, John the Baptist asks this question in order to guide his own disciples to Jesus.  My study bible says that undoubtedly, John's own faith was strengthened through the response given by Jesus (in the verses that follow).

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  Jesus names the signs predicted by Isaiah which would accompany the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6, 61:1).   Jesus performed these miracles in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:20-21), my study bible says, so that they could see with their own eyes works that only the Messiah could do.

John the Baptist's self-stated mission has been to prepare Israel for the coming of the Lord.  He is the one who first made the statement, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (see this reading).   Jesus has repeated it in His ministry (4:12) and also given instruction to the twelve to proclaim it as they go on to their first mission (10:7).  In this sense, we get a clear image of the importance of John the Baptist to this story.  His words echo through Jesus' ministry as they are also part of the work of God in the world, the Holy Spirit working through each mission.  This unfolding also gives us an image that applies to the whole of Scripture, including the Old Testament, as all bears witness to the common work of God in the world, and human beings as laborers in this harvest, as Jesus told His disciples just before He chose the twelve (see this reading).  John is understood by tradition to be the last and the greatest of the Old Testament-type prophets, and so he gives us an idea of continuity, of what it is to 'enter into others' labor' (John 4:38).  He gives us a picture of the communion that goes through all things and people, knows no time limit, and is neither barred by spatial limitations.  The one thing required is human beings whose hearts are open to the mission in their own time and place, and to the grace that is at work through us.  Jesus has given us the prayer called The Lord's Prayer or the Our Father, in which our first petition is "Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  And here is the mission.  This is the truth of John's mission and of Jesus' mission, and it will be the truth of the mission of the apostles upon which they've just been sent out.  We get an idea of our own lives and our place in this cosmic system of salvation when we understand the role that each person plays in the story of the Gospels and throughout the Old Testament.  Each may enter into this mission.  Each may play a role in spreading the message, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  It is here and now, present with us.  We simply must "turn around" (repent) to see it, to realize it, to have its reality more deeply planted in us and to carry that Kingdom with us in the world.  This is how we receive it and pay it forward.  John is in prison at the time of the events we read about in today's Gospel passage.  He is shut up in Galilee in the palace of Herod Antipas, and perhaps is prepared to understand that this is where he will die.  He approaches the end of mission, and the one thing necessary is that he direct his disciples to the place they need to be, to the Coming One.  This is the mission for us as well, for Christ is still the Coming One, "The One who is and who was and who is to come" (Revelation 11:17, 16:5).  In the infinitely creative work of the Spirit, we each may play a role in that mission and participate in the life Christ offers, the life of the kingdom of heaven, and bringing it into the world.  This is the here and now, the always-present, the mission into which we, too, may enter into others' labor.  How do you play your role?  Remember that even those who offer a cup of water in the name of a disciple will have their reward (see yesterday's reading, above).  Our mission need not be grand or great by worldly standards nor met with great fanfare; this is a question of how we live our lives and whose judgment we meet within ourselves at all times.    "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."