The Cornerstone

After assuring his community that they do not need to fear the world as they answer Jesus’ call, Matthew gives an example of someone who did answer the call – John the Baptist (Matthew 11:2-15). An account that we skip, although it leads us to our reading for today, where Jesus points out how the people received John and himself. Jesus is comparing those who have heard the good news and have not believed to children playing games – first a wedding then a funeral. They would not play because it was not the games they wanted. They already knew how the Messiah would come and what he looked like. Neither John nor Jesus looked like their vision of the Messiah. They were looking for someone more like a military genius who would gather an army and throw the Romans out of the promised land setting up a new nation of Israel as Zachariah prophesied. Or did he? Zechariah pronounced the prophecy we read today as Alexander the Great was building his empire, seeing him as God’s servant who would deliver the Israelites from the Persians (much like Cyrus delivered them from Babylon). The removal of the Persians would then allow the Messiah to come. The Messiah would come riding upon a donkey (not a war-horse) and he would destroy the means of war and bring peace. Those to whom Jesus is talking wanted to return to how it used to be. They wanted to be their own nation again, an earthly salvation. This time from the Romans.

We then skip a few verses (20-24) where Jesus reproaches the people for desiring the old. Then we hear three sayings about those who do accept Jesus. Jesus probably spoke these at different times and put together later. The first two appear in Luke almost word-for-word indicating that they were probably from the Q material. The third appears only in Matthew and the Gospel of Thomas, an account of Jesus that is not accepted as Biblical. The first two sayings emphasize that we need to approach Jesus as infants without our minds made up, allowing Jesus to guide our lives. An apropos reminder in our time where we are dealing with a novel virus and old attitudes about others. If we fall back on how things used to be, if we strive to return to the old ways we will fail. We are called to approach these troubling times with open minds and, more importantly, hearts. We look to Jesus to see how we are to respond and what we should do. Jesus who is the embodiment of God’s love. That love which will not let us go but calls us as infants to let Jesus take over our lives. 

Living in God’s love we understand the third saying. You who are weary and carrying heavy burdens take them to Jesus. In the midst of troubling times when the world seems to end, take your burdens to Jesus and he will give you rest. Then take on his yoke – the yoke of love – and minister to others who are in need of rest and in search of love.