Matthew 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."
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - that we may always keep in mind that we are in the Advent Season, in the midst of the world saying that we're in the Christmas season.
Unfortunately, many times I am to myself what Jesus calls "this generation".
When I sit down to do these reflections, I often hear the response, "nobody reads these so why waste your time on it?" When I sit down to write a check for my tithe, I will sometimes hear, "nobody will care if you skip writing this check." Probably the biggest one is, when I realize that I need to calm down when I drive, I will often say to myself, "you've already shown them how uncontrolled you are so why start now?"
Sometimes it comes from family and friends who question my motives, question my age, etc.
(I tell you what, thinking of all these voices and thoughts and opinions hurts ...)
So, now that I have a lot of these thoughts and opinions ringing through my head, the only place that I can turn is to Christ. Look at what they say about Him, and in His passion, look at what they did to Him. We know His works. We know the healings. We know His resurrection. We know that despite Judas' betrayal, the crowd choosing a murderer over Our Lord, and a whole slew of other events, Christ's only will to do do the will of the Father.
I have been going through the thoughts of the Ignatian retreat I was on recently, and there was one revelation that I was reminded of ... "In Heaven, there is no sin. Yet, the wounds of Christ are there." Do not fear being wounded, whether physically or verbally. Christ did the will of the Father, regardless of the wounds. As imitators of Christ, let us do the same.
Take care and God Bless.
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