Today's Gospel

Are You Refusing to Dance?

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we're looking for a word, a phrase, or an idea from the Gospel reading of the day to anchor our day so that we can live the life and teachings in the everyday moments of our lives. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of Luke 7:31-35. The context of this reading, Jesus is talking about John the Baptist. And John the Baptist has sent some of his people, essentially his disciples, to work out or to ask, is Jesus the Messiah. And Jesus is talking to the Pharisees about how badly they treated and rejected John the Baptist.

And Jesus says, "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another. 'We piped to you and you did not dance. We wailed and you did not weep. But John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine. And you say he has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking. And you say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.'"

What jumps out at you today or had this experience of trying to lead people to something that's good for them. Maybe it's at work, maybe it's at home, maybe it's a friend, maybe it's a family member. Could be anyone. But you see what is possible for them. Sometimes you see what is possible for them more than they see what is possible for them. But you see it maybe because you have more experience or maybe you're in a better place than they are at that moment in their lives, but you see their potential. And so you call them along. You say, "Come." And they resist or they reject or they're just lazy and comfortable and won't move and won't participate. And there's a great frustration in that, right?

And so Jesus is talking about this, like the children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another, "We piped to you and you did not dance. We wailed and you did not weep." And so Jesus is constantly pointing out the Pharisees, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. And he's pointing it out to them, to their faces, not gossiping about them behind their backs, pointing out the hypocrisy to their faces for them, but also as a warning to everyone else that is listening. And so in what way is God piping to you and in what way are you refusing to dance? That's what I want you to think about today. Children calling to one another, God calling to you. "I piped for you and you did not dance." He is making the music. And very often we refuse to dance. Have a great day. Remember, don't just be yourself. Be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be.