Gospel: Matthew 11: 16-19
People did not accept John the Baptist, nor did they accept Jesus. We might see these rejections as a matter of appearances - John was an eccentric ascetic who lived in the desert. Jesus was someone who ate with sinners and welcomed them to his table. And while these outward appearances may have dissuaded some, it was in fact our own appearances that cause us to reject both John and Jesus.
We human beings have the natural tendency to defend ourselves at all costs and to condemn other people for just about anything. The message of John was that we should repent of our sins, which goes against our first natural tendency to defend ourselves at all costs. The message of Jesus was that we should show mercy to others, which goes against our second natural tendency to condemn others.
The constant wisdom of God throughout the ages is that we must repent of our sins - to judge only ourselves - and to show mercy to others in concrete ways of acceptance and fellowship. Advent is a time of renewing our commitment to mercy: in seeking God's mercy for our sins, and in showing mercy continually to all in the human community.
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