1 Tim 3:14-16 / Lk 7:31-35
There’s an old saying, "No sense, no feeling." Of course, the corollary is true as well: If you’re awake and alert, you’ll gather a lot of pain. That’s a part of Jesus’ life experience that he’s describing for us in today’s gospel, a sad awareness of the fickleness and superficiality of the basically good folks he was trying to touch. He wanted what was best for them, and he knew that far richer inner lives were within their reach, but there was so much resistance in them, and no matter what he did, so many of them found an excuse to ridicule or reject him. Yet, he stayed the course, all the way to the end, all the way to the cross.
In that, he is our model. Steadfast and constant, despite what folks’ reaction might be at the moment, he carried on, true to his vocation, true to his Father, and true to himself. It’s a stunning example of truthfulness in action and not just in words. And it’s a challenge to every one of us, who face our own share of ridicule, criticism, and even hateful opposition: Be true, be true, be true! In the short term it’s very hard; in the long term it’s the only way.
