Word to the Wise
Monday, December 16, 2013 - 3rd Week of Advent - Mon
[Num 24:2-7, 15-17a and Matt 21:23-27]I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: a star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.
Sometimes the truth can be terribly inconvenient! Balaam was a prophet who had been hired by a rival king to curse Israel! But try as he might, the only vision he could summon was the one God gave him, and it foretold great things for Israel. This made for a very inconvenient truth!
The gospel scripture today takes place after Jesus has created a mess in the temple by overturning money tables and driving the animal dealers out. He acted as if HE was in charge of the temple and not the Chief Priests and elders! So, they ask him by what authority he acted on? Jesus, in true rabbinic debate form, replies with a question of his own which goes right to the center of things. If the Chief Priests and elders could not recognize divine authority in John the Baptist, how could they recognize that the one who truly owns the temple is standing right in front of them? He is an "inconvenient truth!"
There are times when it appears that the whole world forgets why Christmas is being celebrated! The words, "the holidays," and other secular merriness completely smother the "inconvenient truth" that it is the birth of Jesus Christ that is being celebrated, even if this is hard to tell at times. What kind of prominence do we give to that nativity scene in our Christmas decorations? Does it represent an "inconvenient truth?" AMEN