Second Friday of Advent
– You can ponder on the picture.
– You can pray on the words of Scripture. For methods of praying with scripture click button below.
– You can follow the suggestions in the daily ‘Reflection’.
– You can listen to the music
Today’s Scripture
Matthew 11: 16-19 (HCSB)
“To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to each other:
We played the flute for you,
but you didn’t dance;
we sang a lament,
but you didn’t mourn!
For John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
Reflection
Expectations! It seems in some people’s eyes, we can never get it right. Here Jesus reminds the people listening that John the Baptist was criticised for fasting and now Jesus himself is criticised for eating and drinking.
Yet what they should be looking at are the deeds and fruits of the lives of the people they have these false expectations of.
Have you ever felt you have been judged before you even had the chance to do anything to prove your intentions, or do you recognise that you have done this in relation to others?
In the light of your faith, perhaps there in an invitation in this passage to greater freedom.
- Freedom to be your true self made in God’s image
- Letting go of your own false expectations of others
- Freedom to let God surprise you by showing you something new about God’s identity
- Freedom to live your faith in different, more creative ways
Today’s Music
Click to Purchase more Andrew Peterson