Luke 7:28-35: a reflection

28“For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in God’s Kingdom is greater than he.” 29When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism. 30But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves. 31“To what then should I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, saying, ‘We piped to you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned, and you didn’t weep.’ 33For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35Wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Jesus describes his generation with a telling image: they were like children in the marketplace who could not be pleased. We piped to you, and you didn't dance; we mourned, and you didn't weep. Nothing satisfied them. When John came in austerity, neither eating nor drinking, they said he had a demon; when Jesus came eating and drinking, they called him a glutton and a friend of sinners. Whatever came, they found fault with it; John was too austere, Jesus too free. Their fault-finding was not about John or Jesus, but about their own refusal to be pleased; they rejected on any pretext, finding fault with everything, never satisfied.

Notice the perverse fault-finding Jesus describes: rejecting everything, never satisfied. John's austerity was faulted; Jesus's freedom was faulted; whatever came, they found a reason to reject it. Their fault-finding revealed not a real problem with John or Jesus, but their own settled refusal to be pleased, their disposition to reject on any pretext. Nothing would have satisfied them, for the problem was in their own hearts, in a spirit that found fault with everything. Such a fault-finding spirit is never satisfied; it will always find a reason to reject, whatever comes, because the refusal is in the heart, not in the thing rejected. They rejected both John and Jesus, on opposite grounds, because they were determined not to be pleased.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too can fall into a fault-finding spirit that rejects on any pretext and is never satisfied. We can approach things, and people, and even God, with a fault-finding spirit, ready to reject on any pretext, finding fault whatever comes, never satisfied, as that generation faulted both John's austerity and Jesus's freedom. Such a spirit reveals not a real problem with what it rejects, but a settled refusal to be pleased. Do not fall into a fault-finding spirit that rejects on any pretext and is never satisfied; examine whether the fault is in what you reject or in your own refusal to be pleased. Guard against a fault-finding spirit that rejects on any pretext and is never satisfied, examining whether the fault lies in what you reject or in your own heart, as that generation faulted both John and Jesus on opposite grounds; for such a spirit reveals a refusal to be pleased rather than a real problem with what it rejects, and it will never be satisfied, whatever comes.

Lord, Jesus describes his generation with a telling image: they were like children in the marketplace who could not be pleased. We piped to you, and you didn't dance; we mourned, and you didn't weep. Nothing satisfied them. When John came in austerity, neither eating nor drinking, they said he had a demon; when Jesus came eating and drinking, they called him a glutton and a friend of sinners. Whatever came, they found fault with it. Their fault-finding was not about John or Jesus, but about their own refusal to be pleased. Show me the perverse fault-finding Jesus describes: rejecting everything, never satisfied. John's austerity was faulted; Jesus's freedom was faulted; whatever came, they found a reason to reject it. Their fault-finding revealed not a real problem with John or Jesus, but their own settled refusal to be pleased. Nothing would have satisfied them, for the problem was in their own hearts. Such a fault-finding spirit is never satisfied; it will always find a reason to reject, whatever comes. Take that to my heart, for I too can fall into a fault-finding spirit that rejects on any pretext and is never satisfied. I can approach things, and people, and even you, with a fault-finding spirit, ready to reject on any pretext, finding fault whatever comes, as that generation faulted both John and Jesus. Such a spirit reveals not a real problem with what it rejects, but a settled refusal to be pleased. Keep me from falling into a fault-finding spirit that rejects on any pretext and is never satisfied; help me examine whether the fault lies in what I reject or in my own heart, Lord, as that generation faulted both John and Jesus on opposite grounds.