15th Week in Ordinary Time: Wednesday 17th July 2019

In today’s Gospel of Matthew Jesus has just commented on the general population as being like unresponsive children who want neither to play weddings nor funerals. (Like any children, kids of first-century Palestine naturally imitated the adults in their life, and in a peasant village, the main public adult activities were weddings and funerals). Jesus tells his audience that they are like children who respond neither to funeral dirges nor wedding dances.

John the Baptist came with a kind of “funeral” style and they didn’t respond; now Jesus comes with more of a “wedding party” style (sharing his table with tax collectors and sinners) and people generally did not cotton to his way either.

Then Jesus is moved to exclaim, “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to mere children,” (Mt. 11:25-26). So, having told the adults in his audience that they are like spoiled brats that fail to respond to their playmates, he praises the Father for revealing “these things” not to the wise and learned but to “the childlike”.

So, how can we respond to Jesus today? We can respond appropriately to Jesus by becoming aware of our own limitations and dependence on others, especially God the Father. With this attitude, we will be able to spend quality time with Jesus and the Father and recognize a “wedding” or a “funeral” when one comes around.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings. (Ps. 103:2)