A reading of the holy Gospel according to MT 11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds:“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
REFLECTION
“To what shall I compare this generation?"
Have you played hide and seek with children? The younger ones are easy to spot--like toes sticking out from under the curtain. The older ones are hard to find. They have squeezed into a place and quietly wait to be discovered. They truly don't want to be found.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, "Jesus is the God who comes" and we look like "the man who goes away".
God came down from heaven, became man and presented Himself in the most humbling of ways, dependent baby in swaddling clothes and unable to care nor feed Himself. And yet, we don't approach Him--are we afraid of a babe? But He continues to call, with love, "Where are you?" When we allow God to find us, He snatches us up, covers us with kisses and hugs, as we come back to Him with true sorrow and repentance for our sins.
But our sins are hiding us from Him, blaming others for our faults and misdeeds, distorting any relationship to be had with Him.
We were once innocent little ones playing hide and seek but as we gain the world our character gets tarnished. Pride, greed, lust, anger, envy, sloth and gluttony distort who we are. These inclinations hide us from the God who loves us.
Let us allow God to find us, bask in His light and graces. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength needed to hold on to His Wisdom and to attain the virtues of humility, generosity, chastity, meekness, kindness, vigilance and temperance.
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