Today’s passage is quite an unsettling one. In fact, this whole chapter is on the violent side, a scathing rebuke of the Pharisees. The Pharisees knew the Law and the Prophets; they were familiar with the True and Living God and His ways. And yet… when they saw prostitutes and tax collectors repenting of their sins and coming into the kingdom, they did not cry out from the heart “How marvelous!”. And when they saw the compassion and power of Jesus—to heal and to transform lives—they did not respond with faith.
So Jesus tells them, clearly and openly, that there are consequences to not responding to God’s lavish and unmerited gift of life. The consequence is death. It is a law not dissimilar to gravity. If you let go of a porcelain cup, it will fall and it will break. If we choose to reject God and His ways, we have chosen death.
Those poor, deluded Pharisees. What were they thinking? How foolish to fight against God; how foolish to choose death instead of life!
And yet… is there not something I recognize in them? Is there not some small similarity between their hearts and mine? How often do I create a storyline for my life that makes sense and is pleasing to me, and then I ask God to work along those lines? To flip that around, how often do I see the surprising things the Lord does and instead of saying, “This is marvelous!” I say, “This isn’t what I wanted!”
Sometimes I fear we romanticize Jesus. We think He was some ultra-cool rabbi who did passionately wonderful things that we ourselves would surely have recognized for the works of God that they were. But the reality is that He often spent time with the dirty, the uneducated, the poor, the sick, and some who were leading very immoral and broken lives. The prostitutes and tax collectors weren’t romantic figures; they were lost and possibly very unattractive people. But the Lord saw their as-yet unearthed beauty, and when He called to their hearts, they responded. They said to the Lord, “You are marvelous! We will follow you!” and they were transformed. They became whole and beautiful. This Stone that can break and crush, this is the Stone that saves and heals.
For reflection:
Sit quietly with the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see the surprising and unexpected things He is doing in and around you. Ask Him for the grace to agree with Him that His ways are marvelous.
by Christina Winrich
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