Reformation Sunday, October 27, 2024
Reformation Sunday, October 27, 2024
You just can’t please some people! Jesus makes it obvious. John the Baptist came to the people. He was full of pious practices, self-abasement, and asceticism. Yet, the religious authorities complained. They criticized him and claimed, “He has a demon!” Jesus came to the people. He was generally empty of pious practices, violated the Sabbath rules, and scoffed at the cleanliness customs: he ate with tax collectors and sinners. The religious authorities criticized him, “Glutton! Drunkard!” You just can’t please some people! Especially, when the “some people” are the in-group and you belong to the out-group.
Critics and complainers abound, and even Christian church congregations have them aplenty. Perhaps you’ve experienced this. Maybe you’ve been a visitor or a newcomer to a congregation where some have found your presence among them to be off-putting or offensive in some way. I doubt they openly accused you of being demon-possessed or labeled you a drunkard or a glutton. But, in other subtle ways, they let you know how unwelcome you were among them. Or, to turn the table, can you number yourself among the so-called religious authorities by counting your long history with the congregation? You may not openly dismiss or deride a visitor or a new member but casually spurn them by the lack of a smile, a dearth of warmth, or a cold shoulder or two.
Jesus addresses the tension between those of the in-group and those of the out-group. The in-group (in this case the religious authorities) proves hard to please because its specialized wisdom doesn’t allow for wisdom outside of its own boundaries. The out-group (in this case Jesus and John the Baptist) brings its own form of wisdom that is justified, not by appeals to authority, but simply by its effectiveness. Jesus breaks through the boundaries of every in-group by his effectiveness at being “the way, the truth, and the life!” (John 14:6)
Table Talk: Discuss occasions when you’ve experienced the tension between the in-group and the out-group.
Pray: Father, grant to me the effectiveness of Jesus as my way, my truth, and my life even though I must hold them in faith until he comes in his glory. Amen
Matthew 11:12–19
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
16 But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17 We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds