In today’s Gospel, Jesus was talking to a crowd of people, teaching about John the Baptist. He said to them, “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.’” He then speaks about how they misunderstood John and how they misunderstand Him, finishing by saying that “wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
As we think about His words, we can see parallels to today’s world, a world that also misunderstands Jesus, and a world that sometimes outright despises Him. Think about all of the denominations that have broken off from the Catholic Church, those who do not have the fullness of the truth of Christ, those who deny Him in the Eucharist, and even those who twist His words to mean what they want them to mean. In these situations, wisdom is not prevailing.
Even within our own Church, there are people in public life who claim to be Catholic but who do not follow the tenets of the Church. There are priests and bishops who do not stand up for the truths of the faith. There are lay people who hurt others.
Why is this? It’s because the world is full of sinners. We have allowed Satan to infiltrate our minds, our hearts, our TVs, our phones, and our families. As a society, we have gotten so far away from Church teaching that sometimes we forget who Jesus was.
Jesus was a peaceful man who loved, who healed, and who raised the dead. But most of all, He taught. He taught about His Father. He taught about sin. He taught about following the Commandments and treating others well. Yes, Jesus ate with sinners, but He didn’t eat with sinners because He condoned their sins. He didn’t say, “Go ahead, you do you.” He didn’t say, “Do whatever makes you happy.” He told them to sin no more. He talked about His Heavenly Father. He talked about heaven and what people had to do to earn eternity with Him.
Many people listened. Many followed. But for some, Jesus’ teachings were too hard, and they walked away. Unfortunately, we see a lot of walking away in the younger generation today. They either don’t know or they reject what Jesus has to offer. They choose worldly things over Him. Their ignorance, their cold-heartedness, or their desire for material things clouds their vision. They cannot see the beauty of Christ, the wonder of the faith, and the magnitude of eternity.
So, today, as we get closer to the birth of our Lord, let us pray for those who don’t know Him and those who have rejected Him. Let us pray that the wisdom we have and the wisdom we strive for enlightens them. For truly, we are nothing without Christ.
En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús estaba hablando a una multitud de personas, enseñando acerca de Juan el Bautista y les dijo: “¿Con qué podré comparar a esta gente? Es semejante a los niños que se sientan en las plazas y se vuelven a sus compañeros para gritarles: ‘Tocamos la flauta y no han bailado; cantamos canciones tristes y no han llorado’. Luego habla sobre cómo malinterpretaron a John y cómo lo malinterpretan a Él, terminando diciendo que “la sabiduría de Dios se justifica a sí misma por sus obras”.
Al pensar en Sus palabras, podemos ver paralelos con el mundo de hoy, un mundo que también malinterpreta a Jesús y un mundo que a veces lo desprecia por completo. Piensa en todas las denominaciones que se han desprendido de la Iglesia Católica, aquellos que no tienen la plenitud de la verdad de Cristo, aquellos que lo niegan en la Eucaristía, e incluso aquellos que tuercen Sus palabras para que signifiquen lo que ellos quieren. En estas situaciones, la sabiduría no prevalece.
Incluso dentro de nuestra propia Iglesia, hay personas en la vida pública que dicen ser católicas pero que no siguen los principios de la Iglesia. Hay sacerdotes y obispos que no defienden las verdades de la fe. Hay laicos que hacen daño a los demás.
¿Por qué? Es porque el mundo está lleno de pecadores. Hemos permitido que Satanás se infiltre en nuestras mentes, nuestros corazones, nuestros televisores, nuestros teléfonos y nuestras familias. Como sociedad, nos hemos alejado tanto de las enseñanzas de la Iglesia que a veces olvidamos quién era Jesús.
Jesús fue un hombre pacífico que amó, que sanó y que resucitó a los muertos. Pero sobre todo, enseñó. Enseñó acerca de Su Padre. Enseñó sobre el pecado. Enseñó acerca de seguir los Mandamientos y tratar bien a los demás. Sí, Jesús comió con los pecadores, pero no comió con ellos porque condonaba sus pecados. No les dijo: “Adelante, haz lo que quieras”. No les dijo: “Haz lo que te haga feliz”. Les dijo que no pecaran más. Habló de Su Padre Celestial. Habló sobre el cielo y lo que la gente tenía que hacer para ganar la eternidad con Él.
Mucha gente escuchó. Muchos lo siguieron. Pero para algunos, las enseñanzas de Jesús fueron demasiado duras y se alejaron. Desafortunadamente, hoy en día vemos muchos de la generación más joven que se alejan también. O no saben o rechazan lo que Jesús quiere ofrecerles. Eligen las cosas mundanas por encima de Él. Su ignorancia, su frialdad o su deseo por las cosas materiales les nubla la vista. No pueden ver la belleza de Cristo, la maravilla de la fe y la magnitud de la eternidad.
Les invito que hoy, mientras nos acercamos al nacimiento de nuestro Señor, oremos por aquellos que no lo conocen y aquellos que lo han rechazado. Oremos para que la sabiduría que tenemos y la sabiduría que buscamos los ilumine. Porque verdaderamente, no somos nada sin Cristo.
Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 19 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Thirteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the executive editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program—an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students. You can reach her at slochner0.wixsite.com/website.
Feature Image Credit: Wilson Tamayo, cathopic.com/photo/11342-sagrado-corazon
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works full time, is a guest blogger on 
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