SPOILED BRATS
Some
children can be real spoiled brats. I often watch children play in
nearby parks and I hear them quarrel when they don’t get their own way.
One time, I heard one boy say, “I am taking my bat and ball and going
home!” Simply put, “I have had enough! You are not playing by my rules
so I will go home.” It is a sulking attitude. Jesus uses a description
of sulking children towards the elders and rulers of His day.
No matter what happens in Jesus’ life, He cannot escape the ridicule
and criticism of the Pharisees or the religious leaders of society. They
are so set in their ways that they do not believe in the words of Jesus
or heed His teachings. They consider Him as a hobo from the province, a
cheap upstart who has no respect for culture and tradition. Little do
they know!
Even as the Pharisees witness many people following Jesus, a lot being
converted to His ways, miracles do nothing to change their rigid
beliefs, their stubbornness of mind and heart. John the Baptist came
preaching a baptism of repentance, which many participated in, but when
Jesus offers a ministry of eternal life, many turn away from Him. But
the Holy Spirit will blow where He wills and many are advancing in the
Kingdom of God, according to Jesus. If only the blind Pharisees could
see with open hearts and minds.
The experience that Jesus encounters in the closed-mindedness of the
Pharisees and leaders is nothing new. We read in the pages of the Old
Testament their constant refusal and rejection of the prophets and their
messages. It’s as though God is saying, “What more can I do? Since you
are closed and stubborn in your ways, what else must be conveyed?”
John of the Cross explains that God has nothing else to say. He has
spoken His final and definitive word through His Son. He has nothing
else to say. We must be open to the message of God found in the Son who
loves and gives Himself for us and for the life of the world. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL
REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you open-minded to the ways of the Lord?
May Your love be upon us, Lord, as we place all our hope in You. Amen.
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