Be Child-like, Not Child-ish
Dec 9: Friday of the Second Week of Advent
I listened to the Bible in a Year, so I know for a fact that I’ve heard today’s Gospel. But I do not remember it at all. Funny thing is, I can hardly find any commentary on this reading, either; it doesn’t even have its own Wikipedia entry.
I think that’s because it’s a little confusing. The people who have commented on it give contradictory readings. Even though I spent some time reflecting on it, fair warning: I’m an amateur theologian, and I could be very wrong.
Reading 1
IS 48:17-19
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, Their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence.
Jesus and the apostles regularly remind us that we’re children of God. When you’re an adult, it’s really hard to listen and learn; to kids, it’s the most natural thing in the world. When a teacher or parents tells a child something that contradicts their understanding of the world, they simply adjust their worldview to fit the new information.
If you’re reading the Bible, or Catechism, or papal encyclical, and you find yourself thinking, “That doesn’t sound right, my way is better,” stop and think about it for a second. Maybe you’re1 the one whose wrong, and not 2,000 years of church teaching.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Of course, you shouldn’t just listen to anybody. Jesus also warned us that deceivers would claim to come from him. As a grown adult, you have to use your own discernment.
Luckily, you have a direct connection to God, through prayer. Consult Him the way you did your parents when you were a child.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You ever see a little kid waiting for nana and papa to show up, or one of their friends? They can’t even sit still!
Gospel
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.”
In every beginning screenwriting course, the teacher makes the students go out to some public place, listen in on a conversation, and transcribe it word-for-word.2 Inevitably, the student learns that real-life conversations are not nearly as coherent as written dialogue.
That’s kind of how this Gospel passage strikes me. To me, this is one of those stories that lends credence to the Gospels as a whole. It’s the kind of thing that maybe made sense in the middle of real conversation, but when someone wrote it down, it’s hard to track
Are John and Jesus the kids, one playing the flute and one the dirge respectively? That doesn’t really work, because it sounds like Jesus is saying “this generation” is “like children…”
Another interpretation is John and Jesus are one group of kids, trying various songs, and the people are a different group of kids who refuse to dance or mourn. But that’s kind of a convoluted way to say it, since the people being criticized don’t really have an analog in the parable.
The Luke version of this story3 ends with “wisdom is vindicated by all her children." Obviously, it makes sense to say Jesus and John are the children of wisdom.
But in keeping with the first reading and Psalm, I think it’s clear Jesus wants us to be child-like, willing to accept and receive wisdom. We should dance, we should mourn, and we should learn.
I shouldn’t just say “you,” because I totally do this all the time, unfortunately.
I have been both the teacher and the student in this scenario.
My read on this one has been that Jesus is quoting what would have been a well-known nursery rhyme of the time. Like he’s saying, “you are like kids in the temple going ‘Miss Mary Mack, All dressed in black...” etc. Which goes to your point about verisimilitude. But also I think he’s drawing from this well-known (to his audience) cultural touchstone to show, in a humorous and relatable way, how hypocritical the people are in their standards for their religious leaders. Today he’d say something like “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” Or “You can’t win.” John lived ascetically, Jesus lived embedded in human social customs. And he’s calling them out for rejecting both teachers on these grounds. What exactly are they looking for?