16.01 | Sad Songs & Scandalous Joy
Matthew 11
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 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.”
Matthew 11:16-19
“When giving feedback,” a former mentor once told me, “give them a poo sandwich.”
Ok, he used a different word for poo. But you get the gist.
A positive (a nice slice of bread, which to my mind means sourdough), something less pleasant in the middle, and then another affirming slice of bread to finish. A perfect feedback package.
He served me a few sandwiches in our time together.
Today’s reading feels a little bit like a poo sandwich.
We love the beginning: the blind seeing, the lame walking, lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, …. We’re in the swing of this now. We long for more of this. It’s beautiful.
We also love the end. Are we labouring and heavy laden? In our culture of overwork and excess, most of us immediately answer a deeply felt Yes. We’re exhausted. Jesus’ words are balm to us. Come to me … and I will give you rest. Easy yoke. Light burden. It is water for the weary soul. Could God really be this good? You bet your life He is.
Some of you simply need this word today. You need to hear that your task list today is not primarily defined by the expectations of those around you, or those within you. They are set by Jesus. He is interested in all your tasks, and He desires to guide you in them. Do not take on more than He asks, even if it disappoints others. He will give grace for each task. Lay the others aside. Much of our worry and exhaustion comes from our grasping things that were not ours to grasp, or that are not necessary for today. When the Lord is your shepherd, you have no lack.
But what about the middle? This feels harder. It’s easy to rush over it, sticking our fingers in our ears and holding our breath until we get to the next nice bit.
But, as in well-given feedback, there is gold in the parts that are harder to hear. There is correction to our thinking and growth that is only accessible by taking these words and holding them before our hearts.
Jesus builds it on the divisive figure of John the Baptist. Utterly magnetic to some, and utterly repellant to others.
John preached a message of repentance. Of confronting the brokenness in his audience. It gave his listeners a choice: listen, or reject? Harden, or soften? Become defensive, or be changed? He sung them a sad song of the condition of humanity. Some took offence and ignored it; others realised that this accurately described the condition of their soul, and were willing to bypass their smarting pride for a chance of life that was free from all their junk.
And as with John, so with Jesus. Magnetic and repellant.
John, however, had a message of repentance. Jesus was seen to have a lifestyle and message of celebration. Extravagant grace, extravagant feasting, extravagant healing, extravagant laughter, extravagant forgiveness, extravagant joy.
In His idiom, He played them the flute. Some joined the dance. Others stood on the side of the dance floor, frowning and criticising, mocking the dance moves.
And funnily enough, it was exactly the same people who wept tears of repentance before John who joined the joyful extravagance of Jesus. And equally, it was the same people who took offence at the critique of John who took offence at the freedom of Jesus.
John and Jesus confront us too.
They confront our brokenness, failings, and shame. What do we do with the confrontation? Become defensive? Offended? Or just run and hide?
Or do we let go of the unending pressure to hold it together, softening before His healing grace, opening to the possibility of life on the other side?
And they confront our cold rule-making and critical hearts. What do we do with the irreligious antics of Jesus? Jesus; who ate with the most scandalous individuals that society had; who feasted with such freedom and joy; who championed childlikeness, wonder, forgiveness, and laughter? Do we try and get more grown up and serious, or do we risk stepping into the expansive life of the giggling extravagance of the Jesus who invites us into life in all its fullness?
The doctor who diagnoses your condition is not condemning you. She is revealing to you what needs confronted if you want to return to health.
As with John, so with Jesus.
Reflect:
Repentance. Celebration.
Both are essential for healing and rest.
Which is the Father inviting you further into today?
Pray:
Lord Jesus,
Your Way convicts me, scandalises me, stretches me, and constantly inverts my expectations of life and of what it means to follow you.
I am more broken than I have acknowledged
And I am more stuck up than I would like to admit.
Soften my heart today, in the living waters of your Holy Spirit
Liberate me in the humility that leads to honesty
And the freedom that leads to irreligious joy.
Help me to inhabit the fullness of humanity
Which reflects the fullness of your deity
Because here is my healing
And here is my rest.
In your name,
Amen.
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Genesis 34-35 | Proverbs 3:1-12