December 11, 2015
It seems to me that the generation Jesus is
referring to in today’s gospel and our current generation are not that
different. We love to complain about everything and we love to make it everyone
else’s problem to fix. I am raising my own hand…guilty. Everyday, certain
social media outlets inform me of what is trending this week, this day, and
even right this very moment. Trending, in my opinion, is a very 1st
world issue and trends’ shelf lives seem to be getting shorter and shorter don’t
they? I mean with every new and improved version of the iPhone, we just start
waiting for the next generation to come out and the new becomes old news almost
from the get go.
- · Diet trends
- · Health tip trends
- · What’s good for your heart trends
- · What’s not good for your heart trends
- · Who’s popular
- · Who’s unpopular
- · One day red wine is bad for you and the next day it has magical antioxidants to cure everything
- · One day only egg whites, the next day the whole egg is good
- · One day grains, the next day absolutely no grains
The
Kardashians, Bieber, Trump, Miley, Caitlin, etc., we love them one minute and
in the next breath, they are reviled. I find that our obsession with trends or to
the latest and greatest has weakened our virtue especially in relationships. We
change out our friendships, marriages, and even our careers like we do our
styles of jeans, or boots, or smart phones. If our electronics stop working, we
upgrade to the next generation and throw away the old, and with materials
things that is an OK thing to do because they don’t really matter in the end,
but our weakened virtues do matter and Jesus calls us to a deeper, richer, and
stronger faith this day.
Trends
kind of own us and again, I am raising my own hand. What I don’t ever want to
become a fly by night trend is my relationship with Christ, my prayer life, my
need for Eucharist, my service to others, my desire to be holy, my virtue, and
my commitment to my friends and family. Let’s use today’s Psalm 1 as our payer
to help us anchor our souls ever more deeply into the steadfast love of Christ, which
never waivers nor grows weary. Let our virtue and the things that truly matter
become long-term lifestyles rather than short-term trends, and most importantly
remember that only God can fill those things in us that ache for meaning.
Reading 1 IS 48:17-19
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6
R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
“To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
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