Knowing Joy – Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

A text – Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

¹⁶ “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ¹⁷ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, 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, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to children; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

A reflection:

No matter who the prophet is, and no matter how the prophet behaves, people seem determined to find fault. In this passage Jesus notes that John’s ministry was conducted in a lifestyle of meager food and no strong drink. In contrast, Jesus often eats well with tax collectors and other wealthy persons. Both ministries were blessed with followers, both pointed to the Kingdom of God, and both resulted in powerful authorities killing the prophets. Jesus knew neither ministry taught the religious leaders anything except how to fight the prophet. Few Pharisees, for example, were moved or became followers of either man, but hundreds, even thousands of ordinary people followed both John and Jesus, people who were moved by their words and by their examples of lives lived to glorify God.

The leaders to that day were lost to God, Jesus seems to be saying, but the followers of John and Jesus were brought to God, their lives changed, their bodies healed, their joy in life restored. This is what God is after: a life containing joy is God’s gift. What am I learning from this passage? I have a Ph.D. I used my God-given brain power to earn it. But reading this passage makes me realize that when I take stock of my life and my joys, joys rarely come from my wisdom or anything else intelligent that I have thought up. They come from living in the moment, like a little kid, with my friends and family, receiving and celebrating each minute of life as it occurs, laughing with others and lifting ourselves to appreciate what we have, and not worrying about anything else, past or future.

This is life. We use up daily hours in work, and we reap financial rewards for doing so. But joy comes when we share those rewards freely with others. When we are “children,” all kids together around a table or a game, we are sharing the joy which is God’s gift to us. Play more, appreciate more, enjoy more. Joy is our gift to use as often as we can.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for making us able to see your works and comprehend you with childlike perception and also with developed brains, if only we are willing to look for you and not our overdeveloped expectations for you and for ourselves. Help us to rest and play and know joy, your bountiful gift to us. Amen.