"For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” -Lk. 7:33-35
09/17/2014 Wednesday of the twenty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time
You can't please everybody. Sometimes you can't please anybody.
Jesus is asking the crowds, "Look, what do you want?" John the Baptist came, eating locusts and honey and you thought he was crazy. Here I am, I hang out, eat and drink, and you say I'm a drunkard.
And so it goes now. We sometimes get caught up thinking about how others need to prove their holiness to us. I didn't see HIM at the Rosary group this week. Did you see her at the church picnic, making a fool of herself and playing the kids' games all afternoon?
Oh, we judge holiness, don't we. When we do that, the danger is that we will treat people differently based on our petty judgments and what we think they should be doing. But let's think about yesterday's letter from St. Paul where he talked about all of us having different gifts and different roles to play in bringing others to Jesus. Some people witness best by fasting and offering up suffering. Others are more pastoral and serve God best by mingling in with more people and being a witness that way. As St. Paul's letter today tells us, if it is done with love, for others and our Lord, then that is what matters.
Jesus ends by saying "Wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
If wisdom and love guide the way you use your spiritual gifts, then you are truly doing God's work.
God bless,
P.D.O.
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