Daughter, your faith has made you well

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.

As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" When all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you." But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me." When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer." When Jesus heard this, he replied, "Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved." When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, "Child, get up!" Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.

- Luke 8:40-56

It's important to note that this passage from Luke is also reported in the same way in both Matthew and Mark. That is, these two particular miracles are grouped together: Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, comes to Jesus for help with his only child, a daughter twelve years of age, who is dying. On the way to Jairus' house, Jesus feels that someone in the crowd has touched him: he's felt power go out of himself, and a woman is healed. Afterward Jesus makes his way to Jairus' house, and with Peter, John and James in attendance, Jairus' daughter - who by now is considered past saving and deceased - is healed as well.

I consider the grouping of these two miracle healings extremely important from my perspective as a woman. It's an illustration of the love with which Jesus views all of us, including those of little importance in the social structure and in particular the special attention and care he's giving toward a haemorrhaging woman and a little girl who is just on the brink of puberty. The haemorrhaging woman would have been considered unclean in the society, and so set apart. In the Old Testament tradition, her bleeding would have caused ceremonial defilement, imposing religious and social restrictions, for contact with blood was strictly prohibited. (Lev. 15-25) It is perhaps for this reason that she approaches Jesus in a "stealthy" way, because she has had to set herself apart - and it is only by faith that she's bold enough to touch the hem of his garment, thinking that she is unknown.

But Jesus feels the power go out of himself: he's always aware of what he is about, he understands what relationship he's engaged in, and senses the healing that has been encountered. So he asks, "Who touched me?" In the jostling of the crowd, no one can tell him the answer. But the woman boldly responds, despite her defilement, that it was she who did so. Jesus not only responds with love, but calls her, "Daughter." In this statement we can understand his relationship to us in faith: all things are healed and cleansed in Spirit - this woman considered unclean is his daughter, and so he calls her in front of all the crowd, the public from which she was set apart as unclean.

In the meantime, Jairus' daughter has expired. The servants come to tell Jesus and Jairus that his daughter is dead. But Jesus once again in this example teaches us his mastery over time: there is time to heal the woman, and there is time yet for Jairus' daughter. He did not rush so to help the daughter of a leader of the synagogue that he did not have time for the bleeding woman he calls "daughter" himself. And so, taking in his closest circle of Peter and John and James, and to the derision of those who know the daughter is dead, Jesus heals the little girl. This child again is someone of no importance in the society - social status would come with eligibility for marriage and she's just about to enter that status, but she's still a little girl. The one who loves and values her is her father, who has asked for Jesus' help. And so, in another connection through faith and love, Jairus' daughter is also healed - resurrected. Poetically, the "unclean" woman who asked for healing in secret is publicly revealed as Jesus calls her "daughter," but when the leader of the synagogue's daughter is healed, Jesus orders the witnesses to tell no one.

Two daughters, connected to Jesus' healing power through faith and love. We all stand as equals in that love, faith and power of the Spirit. Later Paul will write (in today's Epistle reading, from Romans ch. 14):

I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

It is in the power of true faith that all things become clean. In this relationship of love and trust, two daughters, both beloved, are healed. We are enlightened through this example of love, and to the radical equality of all subjects of this kingdom.

Welcome all

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honour of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honour of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honour of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is written,

‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall give praise to God.’

So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

- Romans 14:1-12

Today's gospel reading from Luke is the story of the Gerasene man so occupied by demons that they pronounced their name as "Legion." I have written a commentary on this story when it was in the readings from the gospel of Mark here. A friend of mine who is partly responsible for inspiring me to write this blog really enjoyed that particular post, so others may enjoy it too.

However, today I decided to focus on this remarkable passage from St. Paul's epistle to the Romans. Paul illustrates here the need for us to understand that as Christians we should not be practicing any form of "legalism." A beloved priest used to tell me, "We have tools, not rules," and I think that fits Paul's reading today. That is, we must welcome all and learn to love one another despite our differences. What makes us related to one another is our relationship in the Lord. If all is done in love of the Lord, we must then learn to love one another despite our differences. It is the weak in faith - for whom conscience and wisdom are not highly developed - who must attach the greatest importance to secondary matters of practice. However, Paul goes on to counsel against scandalizing and alienating such individuals from God and the church.

Certainly one can imagine situations where this is a hard teaching indeed. There is no end to the fights we can all be engaged in, each feeling that he or she is on the side of the Lord on one topic or another. I have no doubt of the strong feelings of absolute correctness that are possible on either side of an issue, and we can think of many that are the case today where people who consider themselves devout Christians will disagree vehemently with one another. Historically, the church convened universal councils for decisions on matters of the greatest importance such as Christian doctrine. Although Paul doesn't address himself to matters of dogma or doctrine here, the universal council is the great example, I think, of the spirit of what Paul is preaching.

But Paul says that we must welcome all. I would hope, personally, that each of us could begin to recognize the things that are good in one another's practices. But more importantly than that, we can each choose our practice while remembering that it is a relationship to Christ that is to unite us in love. As a practitioner of contemplative prayer myself, this relationship - within me - is probably the most important thing that tells me what my conduct must be to others. This relationship comes before any other loyalty in terms of faith, whether that be a political party, social conventions, or the means by which I worship. It is that deep internal relationship of faith that tells me, hopefully, how I should relate to others in that faith - and outside of it as well.

Paul says that Christ is both the Lord of the dead and the living. These are indeed as opposite as possible, yet both are united in the Lord. Therefore if our focus in faith is on such a Lord, we too should be capable of embracing all of his kingdom. We know what it is to follow in faith, and I'm not embracing corrupt leadership or abuse or any of the practices that in effect deny Christ's word; this is not to say that "anything goes" if it's done nominally in Christ's name. We must always remember Christ's warnings about false prophets and wolves in sheep's clothing. But Paul here is leaving the door open for our legitimate differences in practice and devotion, and we must remember Jesus' final, new command, to love one another as he has loved us.

Where is your faith?

‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’

Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’

- Luke 8:16-25

Jesus continues his speech after telling the parable of the Sower, in which we learn about how the word takes root, or not. Here he develops what it is to nurture that truth in us, and what those who do hear must do.

To develop ears to hear and eyes to see is to light an internal lamp. It is up to those who nurture this word and this truth within themselves to allow that lamp to shine and to brighten, to develop this gift. If we thirst for spiritual truth, and seek it honestly, then we bear the responsibility to continue in its ways. We don't stand still, but allow it to brighten and magnify itself within us. Jesus also says we must "pay attention to how we listen" - because for those who have turned on this light, more will be given; nothing is secret that will not be disclosed or come to light. But if we do not carry this with us or develop this spiritual gift, what we have will be taken away. This is not a possession to hide or own like a treasure you keep to yourself, but a gift to be developed and brought forward in growth. It is a forward process of bearing fruit that is initiated by the reception of the word.

Then we are told that Jesus' mother and brothers are looking for him, but Jesus announces to the crowds that those who hear this word, and receive it and nurture it, those who shine this lamp and allow it to magnify, are truly his mother and brothers. If we go forward into this truth and live it and magnify it, we become his family. We live in relationship to him.

Finally, in this passage we have the story of Jesus calming a storm as he and his disciples are in a boat. Jesus is asleep and the disciples are afraid of perishing because of the strong gale that starts to blow. I think this story in itself is an illustration of going forward in faith, with this word, this light we must allow to develop and magnify within us. Once we start down the road, we will be shaken by life's events and changes, and our emotions that create upheaval within us, but we must call upon the Word, and have faith in that Word and go forward with him. Through all things in life, we go forward, holding the word fast in an honest and good heart, and bearing fruit with patient endurance. This is what faith does and how it works - it's a relationship of love and trust that is not bound by time nor space nor the exigencies of life. Through faith, our lamps shine and magnify and grow in the light. This is what he expects of us, what he hopes for us, and the nature of gifts of Spirit. There may be dark nights, but we must have faith in the light.

The parable of the sower

Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that

“looking they may not perceive,

and listening they may not understand.”

‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

- Luke 8:1-15

It's important to note that as Christ continues his mission, he not only has with him his twelve disciples but also women who help support his ministry - Luke records that these women provided for them out of their resources. I think it's important to note that, coming right after the story of the 'sinful woman' who bathed Jesus' feet, Luke notes several of the women who were prominent and apparently necessary for the support of Jesus' ministry. We have here a special notation to the importance of the women involved in this ministry, in spreading the gospel of the Good News. I think we must see our physician Luke as particularly attentive to the nature of the kingdom in that each of its members are necessary - the healed are now those who carry out ministry to others. No one is barred from participation in the work of redemption, having been themselves redeemed through faith. Luke finds this so important that he names several of these women by name so that we have a record of their important presence. Once again, the outsiders are now included.

Jesus' famous parable of the sower of the seed is given to the crowds. I've read in a commentary that the Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb." I found the following commentary on parables in the Orthodox Study Bible:

The truth communicated by Jesus' parables, however, is not evident to all who hear them. One must have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear, and then there are degrees of understanding of the parables.

Thus, "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" (Mark 4:11) may be translated " to those who are outside, all things come in riddles." Jesus' quotations of Isaiah 6:9, 10...demonstrates that people are responsible for their own receptivity.

Jesus' parables I find are meant to be vivid illustrations of the points he's trying to make. Often I do not find them to be far-extended metaphors but rather witty and to the point in terms of illustrating a particular truth. But I also think that the word "riddle" is very important, and ties in ancient traditions regarding mystery and faith to our present time, and we must keep this in mind when we read the parables. Two thousand years later, we have come to expect to have all of these things explained to us in depth as well. But we shouldn't forget to cultivate the heart that is open to truth in faith, nor the relationship necessary for this openness to understanding of spiritual truth.

Jesus' parable, which has come to us now as so well known, is still important for its illustration of spiritual truth - that the rock or bed of understanding is still within us, and perhaps more importantly, it's still our responsibility to cultivate spiritual truths within ourselves and our own receptivity to this reality. If, after all, we've come to a place where the desire to understand spiritual mystery is lacking, then I don't think we thirst for truth in the way Jesus expects those who make up that "good soil" to be thirsty for truth so that it will bear fruits "with patient endurance."

Sunday's reading from Matthew was one in which we were exhorted to "ask, seek and knock" and we too often forget that this seeking and receiving is about the desire for truth, to unlock the doors of mystery to spiritual truth. Jesus is looking for followers who thirst for righteousness, not just food or an easy life, but the healing that comes from spiritual transcendence, and is initiated by faith and a heart open to spiritual truth. The parables challenge us as riddles in order to tease out those who really want this gift, and to winnow out those who are just following along but in whom that word does not take root, nor bear fruit. In this passage we have a riddle about a riddle - 2,000 years later Jesus mirrors us back to ourselves. Are we cultivating ears to hear?

Your faith has saved you; go in peace

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’ Jesus spoke up and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he replied, ‘speak.’ ‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’

- Luke 7:36-50

After Jesus' preaching regarding the justification of wisdom's children, in both he and John the Baptist, a Pharisee has invited him to eat in his home. This is an indication that there are Pharisees who wish to honor Jesus and understand him better. But something remarkable happens at this dinner. A woman shows herself at the dinner, and brings a jar of ointment. She stands behind Jesus, weeping at his feet, bathing them with her tears and drying them with her own hair. Then she anoints his feet with the ointment. One would guess this is a rather remarkable sight.

So this woman fills an important function in terms of Jesus' teaching. She is unwittingly an obstacle, or at least a form of teaching, for the Pharisees at this meal. Jesus' host is shocked. First of all, he believes that if Jesus is truly a prophet, he would know what type of woman is touching him, and that she is a sinner. So, in the Pharisee's eyes, Jesus has failed to set himself apart from the sinful, to live a consecrated life to holiness.

But Jesus has a teaching mission, and so he instructs the Pharisee in the thinking of salvation. Jesus uses the example of a debtor and the forgiveness of great debt to compare his relationship with the woman, and with those for whom righteousness means there is less to be forgiven. The sinful woman owes renewal and regeneration to Jesus' forgiveness; Jesus has given her a chance at a life of redemption, and not in slavery to sin or the perception that sin is a stain from which one is never freed but remains tainted. Her love for Jesus, then, is boundless, and she empties herself to Jesus just as she empties symbolically the expensive jar of ointment on his feet - showing Jesus boundless honor.

I think it is a beautiful sort of poetry that, as through her faith in Jesus she has been "cleansed" and healed, so she symbolically washes his feet with her tears and anoints them with ointment; and we have a beautiful picture of reciprocated love in this action. I recall that Jesus' feet will bear the marks of nails as he himself will be wounded in his own identity as stumbling block. He awaits our love as he offers us his own.

Jesus is a debt collector of a certain kind. In Jesus' judgment, the debts are recorded and recalled. However, we each have some type of coupon for redemption in that judgment. There is the coupon of mercy held out to each of us, and each of us - regardless of human judgment - can be eligible for that mercy. In this way Jesus has claimed another outsider, another one cast out from the society, another one who will become his devoted and loving follower, whose life is redeemed through service to Jesus - because of her great faith in him and his capacity to forgive. She will be the one who is "set apart" for service to God. This is love's work in the gospels, drawing those whose need is great into relationship with God.

A lost reputation is the best degree for Christ's service.
- C. T. Studd (1860-1931)

Ask, and it will be given to you

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

- Matthew 7:7-14

Reading these gospels, I increasingly see qualities expressed in Jesus' teachings that we have come to associate with good social governance. What I mean by that is something akin to the notions that we embrace about the rights of man. These are things that many of us take for granted in certain countries, but we forget how hard a struggle it has been and continues to be for people to achieve a basic form of equality or just treatment and respect for persons as human beings. There are many places in the world where such words have no meaning.

Today's daily readings group the passage above from Matthew with a reading from Wisdom. In the book of Wisdom chapter 7, Solomon declares that he prayed to God and he was given wisdom - the spirit of wisdom came to him, instructed him. These are beautiful passages about relationship to God, and instruction in the spirit of God.

In Christ, it seems to me that through grace we are blessed with the ability for each of us to cultivate this relationship that Solomon writes about. As Christ spreads his own message of redemption, that which he calls the fulfillment of the law, what I see is a greater spread of this ability for relationship into the world and among human beings, an opening and offering to all for the relationship that Solomon has with wisdom. Jesus says, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. I believe that he is offering to all people this opportunity for relationship with wisdom. He is saying that as human beings we each possess the necessary capabilities for such relationship ourselves.

However, in this same passage he tells us that although we have the capability, we must also exert the effort. We must do what it takes if we want this great prize, this beauty. The way is narrow. As human beings, equipped with the capacity for this life in abundance, we also bear the position of responsibility - as does anyone with a capability for great gifts. In order to achieve that life, we must also realize that as being entrusted with so great endowments, we also bear responsibility for our conduct, a way to live our lives and pursue that path. It is not enough that we qualify for this relationship with Spirit, we must also walk in the ways of Spirit and bear our gift responsibly to realize its fruits.

I see all of this as grace, as an establishment of human beings as beings "greater than the angels." In today's psalms we read:

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honour.

I see Jesus' extension of grace into the world as that which extends to human beings a greater honor than before, a depth of knowledge about what our capabilities and possibilities are. He is here to give life in abundance, and to make us his co-redemptors in the sense that we are capable of receiving this life; he asks us to be his co-workers in grace, and to share the responsibility that comes with such an endowment, and to bear its fruits. It is an extension of depth and dimension to what it means to be a human being, and a radical form of equality in that all who are capable are invited to sit at this table, and to take up his Way. In my opinion, this is a radical departure into the social values we call "good" and that have borne fruit in the sense of the recognition of human beings as deserving of basic rights of treatment and respect, in the same sense that the crucifixion story has given us values of social good in the awareness of the harm of the innocent that comes with our imperfect systems of human justice. Solomon is called Solomon the Great, but Jesus extends to each of us Solomon's capacity for relationship to wisdom.

Jesus extends to each of us this invitation to ask, to seek, and to knock. He promises response to those who will accept this lofty invitation with responsibility and understanding. We are all invited into this relationship. It is just a question of stepping up to the plate and doing our part to fulfill this gift, this capability we've been given. In that extension of grace I read of radical establishment of equality and respect for human personhood, an extension of grace to all and a gift to the world of consciousness of what it is to be human. How far do we fall from this lofty capability with our choices?

"And whoso degrades His dignity in the creature, degrades the Creator in his victim"
- Franz Werfel, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh

Wisdom is justified by all her children

The disciples of John told him of all these things. And John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And when the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?'"

In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me."

When the messengers of John had gone, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
who shall prepare thy way before thee.'

I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (When they heard this all the people and the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John; but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

"To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another,

'We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

- Luke 7:18-35

John the Baptist has been imprisoned shortly after the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. No doubt John knows that his own demise may be near. I read in a bible commentary that John expected the Messiah to bring Judgment at his first coming. We must remember that the expectations of the Messiah are varied and depend upon prophecy. So, he sends his disciples to inquire of Jesus.

Jesus' response is indirect - he doesn't declare himself by naming himself Messiah but instead performs healings: of diseases, plagues, evil spirits, and the blind receive their sight. Jesus' response to John's disciples is to instruct them to tell John of what they have seen Jesus do. Jesus' words reflect those of the prophet Isaiah - but more to the point, they reflect the giving of life, and life given abundantly. He is not here to judge but to heal and to save; his mission is to give life in abundance.

After John's disciples leave, Jesus teaches about John - that he was a great prophet, and again indirectly referring to himself, Jesus once more uses the words of Isaiah in describing who John the Baptist is. And already there is a line drawn, here in Luke, between the ones who've been seeking life and salvation - "the people and the tax collectors" - and the ones who feel justified by law. The former had put their faith into the Baptist and his teachings of repentence, the latter did not.

Finally, Jesus compares those who demand proofs to children playing a popular game. This game was one in which children would divide into two groups. One group pretend to play instruments or wail, and the other would respond appropriately either by dancing or weeping in mourning. Jesus' comparison to the children is to say that these individuals demand a performance to suit their moods or whims of what a prophet or Messiah should do or be like.

But faith does not work in this sniping, criticizing way. It does not suit itself to polls or fashion experts, it does not follow popularity or the whims of those who wish to dictate. Nor is it given in abstraction alone. "Wisdom is justified of all her children." There is a different reality that is calling the shots, and Wisdom is of the Spirit. It is of life in abundance, it's not predictable according to one type. It does not put on appearances to suit the critical; nor does this form of criticism lend itself to faith and proper understanding. We need ears to hear and eyes to see, and hearts that are open to mercy to have this comprehension of Wisdom's children.

Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
- Wisdom 7:7