Reflection for December 10, Friday of the Second Week of Advent: Matthew 11:16-19

Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19

Jesus said to the crowds: “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.’ 

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

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Reflection:

Back when I was a child I was always excited whenever it’s Christmas season.  Not because of the forthcoming birth of Jesus but because of Santa Clause and the gifts. This is what I always looked forward to whenever its Christmas time back then. As I matured my mind was enlightened by the real meaning of Christmas it's none other than the birth of our savior Jesus. 

Here in our gospel we have two important personalities that points us the true essence of Christ birth. Personality number one is John the Baptist, what does he teaches us about Christmas? For John Christmas is about preparing ourselves to the forthcoming birth of our savior Jesus Christ. 

John also tells us that it’s not enough that we properly prepare ourselves. It’s also a must that we properly prepare others about the real essence of Jesus’ birth into this world. And how should we prepare? It’s to prepare with simplicity and humility because John is the epitome of simplicity and humility. 

Personality number two is Jesus himself, what does Jesus tells us about Christmas? It’s OK for Jesus to celebrate Christmas with merry making for so long as we do it properly. For example, it’s Ok to have celebration during this Christmas but we must do it to honor Jesus. Not to satisfy our own egos and selves we can best do this by helping the poor because Jesus is always with them. By doing this we emphasize that Christmas is about Jesus and certainly not about ourselves. 

For Jesus, His forthcoming birth is also about sharing and mingling. We share whatever we could share not for our fellowmen to know that we are good Samaritans. But for them to know that along with what we share comes the message of the birth of Jesus. We also mingle with our friends and relatives during this season not solely to acquaint ourselves with what’s going on with our lives.  We mingle or we come together for the reason that we want to bring to them Jesus. 

The same Jesus who is always in our hearts yesterday, today and forever. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas