Jesus said
to the crowds: “To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What
are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
Commentary of the day :
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church
Commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon 38
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church
Commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon 38
The apostle Paul says that there are some who have no knowledge of God (1 Co
15,34). My opinion is that all those who lack knowledge of God are those who
refuse to turn to him. I am certain that they refuse because they imagine this
kindly disposed God to be harsh and severe, this merciful God to be callous
and inflexible, this lovable God to be cruel and oppressive. So it is that
wickedness plays false to itself, setting up for itself an image that does not
represent God as he truly is.
What are you afraid of, you men of little faith? That he will not pardon your sins? But with his own hands he has nailed them to the cross. That you are used to soft living and your tastes are fastidious? But he knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2,7). That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain? But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners. Or perhaps that angered by the enormity and frequency of your sins he is slow to extend a helping hand? But where sin abounded, grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20). Are you worried about clothing and food and other bodily necessities so that you hesitate to give up your possessions? But he knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32). What more can you wish? What else is there to hold you back from the way of salvation? This is what I say: you do not know God, yet you will not believe our words. I should like you to believe those whom experience has taught.
What are you afraid of, you men of little faith? That he will not pardon your sins? But with his own hands he has nailed them to the cross. That you are used to soft living and your tastes are fastidious? But he knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2,7). That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain? But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners. Or perhaps that angered by the enormity and frequency of your sins he is slow to extend a helping hand? But where sin abounded, grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20). Are you worried about clothing and food and other bodily necessities so that you hesitate to give up your possessions? But he knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32). What more can you wish? What else is there to hold you back from the way of salvation? This is what I say: you do not know God, yet you will not believe our words. I should like you to believe those whom experience has taught.
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