Daily Mass Gospel Reflection - The Unclean Association

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 12/15/23 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Matthew 11:16-19

Friends, in today’s Gospel,
the Pharisees compare the eating habits of John the Baptist,
who fasted, and Jesus, who dined with sinners.

In the carefully stratified society of Jesus’ time,
a righteous person would never associate with the unrighteous,
for fear of becoming unclean. But here is Jesus,
scandalizing everyone because he does indeed break down these barriers.
How would you feel if you saw me socializing with prostitutes and drug dealers?
Would it shock you, dismay you, disappoint you?
But this is what Jesus did,
precisely because he was the Incarnation of the God
who aggressively seeks out the lost.

God looks for us, comes running after us,
never lets go, never relents, never gives up.
The more we run, the more he runs after us;
the more we hide, the more he looks;
the more we resist, the more he persists.
God loves sinners and associates with them.

[MurphsLaw]

+++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."+++