More Than a Prophet
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Luke 7:24-30 – When the messengers of John the Baptist had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. “What did you go out to the desert to see – a reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live are found in royal palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom Scripture says:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.
I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” (All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“…but the Pharisees and scholars of the law…rejected the plan of God for themselves.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
It’s easy to dislike the Pharisees and the scholars of the law in the Scriptures. They’re the bad guys, right? Well yes…and no. Actually, in the Gospels, the ones we often see Jesus and John welcoming, the “tax collectors and sinners,” were the ones whose lives were full of sin—often very grave sin! The Pharisees and scholars of the law, in great contrast to the “sinners,” are the ones who are very concerned about acting righteously (according to the law). They build their whole lives around a system set up specifically to keep them from breaking the duties of the religious laws. If we were to look at their lives and compare them to ours, they would probably look better—a lot better!
One of the problems with the Pharisees (verses the “sinners”) is that they are so caught up in their own ideas of goodness that they fail to accept God’s idea of goodness. They don’t repent, because they don’t think they need to. They trust their wisdom, their success, their goodness, their plan...and St. Luke says they “rejected the plan of God for themselves” (Luke 7:30). But aren’t we just like that? Don’t we think, “I don’t really want to ask God first, because His plan might differ from mine”? Don’t we think, “I know God has shown me one way to go, but I have this or that special exception. I don’t need to follow God’s will exactly”? Well, we would probably make great Pharisees, you and I. But let’s remember the great danger we put ourselves in by trusting in our own goodness. The will of God isn’t that we resolve to trust in our own goodness and to save ourselves (like the Pharisees), but that we repent and trust in God’s goodness to save us (like the sinners…the sinners that we are).
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
