Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.

Read

Luke 7:31-35 (NRSV)

“To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.’For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Reflect

In the mid nineteen-fifties, my dad routinely rode to Montgomery with his grandfather, Dad Benson, who was the state senator for northeast Alabama. One day, when they were about halfway to Montgomery, Dad Benson brought the car to stop – the mule of an impoverished black sharecropper had escaped its harness, and the mutinous beast was cavorting about the field, heedless of all authority.

Dad Benson ordered everybody out of the car, and soon they had the errant mule back to his plow. After that, Dad Benson spent a good while in the sun and dusty heat of the farmer’s field, discussing farming in general and mules in particular.

An Alabama politician during the bad old days of segregation would have a hard time being one of the good guys. But on that day, I am pretty sure Dad Benson qualified.

But where are the good guys these days? Where can we find decency, or good sense? Where can we even find a grown-up, for crying out loud?

One came eating and drinking with us, a friend to the poor, a servant to the powerless. He will sing our sad songs with us, and he will dance to our music. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Pray

Gracious God, fill us with childlike wonder. Save us from childish petulance and selfishness. Grant that we may hear the music arising from all of your creation that we may respond with tears or dancing, but especially with right service, in your name. Amen.

Go with God!