Proper 9 Year A
Taken from Lectionary Reflections Year A
Description
Lectionary reflections - Year A
Ordinary Time
Proper 9
Zechariah 9.9–12
Romans 7.15–25a
Matthew 11.16–19, 25–30
The first half of chapter 11 of Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus’s tribute to John the Baptist. John is in prison, longing to know if he has stepped aside for nothing, aching to be reassured that he has truly listened to God. He gets the reassurance he needs and then Jesus turns to the crowd and says his public ‘Thank yous’ to John, the man who was prepared to be nothing so that Jesus could step into his rightful place.
But the crowd aren’t really very interested. After all, John is yesterday’s news. They have already moved on to the next sensation. The tabloids are full of Jesus, for the moment, until he puts a foot wrong, or something more interesting and less demanding turns up. They are getting restless with all this talk about John. They have come to hear about themselves, their needs, their hopes and fears. Who cares
about that old has-been, John?
Jesus knows them well, as his ironic little parable shows...
Taken from Lectionary reflections year A by Jane Williams - Published by SPCK