According to our gospel reading for today Jesus’ opponents were able to grasp the meaning of his words, but only to a certain extent. “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them” (Matthew 21:45). The problem was that while they understood that Jesus was talking about them, they were not able to grasp the validity of what he said. To them Jesus was a nuisance and not the Son of God. The chief priests and Pharisees considered themselves devout people of great faith, but they were so wrapped up in their own expectations that they missed the fact that God was standing (and speaking) right in front of them. What they needed was an attitude adjustment.
In the film version of John Grisham’s novel A Time To Kill, Jake, a young defense attorney, makes his closing argument to the jury. He begins by asking the twelve men and women to close their eyes and to imagine the scene he is describing: the brutal assault on a young black girl by two white men, the various horrific things they did to her, the fact that they ignored her pleas for mercy and how they left her for dead. “Can you see that?” Jake asks the jury. “Now, imagine that little girl is white.” The impact of Jake’s words is instantly apparent. The jarring change in perspective makes all the difference in how the jury members perceive the case at hand.
The chief priests and Pharisees might have been jarred into a change of perspective by Jesus’ parable, yet they were not receptive to what Jesus was saying. What about you and me? Are we receptive to God’s word in such a way that we can hear it and be moved by it? Are we willing to be corrected of our false assumptions, to at least entertain the notion that God’s will is other than what we may expect? It is so easy to condemn the chief priests and Pharisees for their hardheartedness, but unless we are open to God’s word we may miss the chance to be jarred into a change of perspective ourselves. During Advent, as we await the arrival of Jesus Christ, it is important to allow God to speak to us and then to really listen to what God is saying. Otherwise we may well miss the chance of a lifetime. We always have more to learn; but are we really willing to be taught?
Prayer: Lord, allow us to be moved by your word, and when we are reluctant to listen jar us from our complacency that we may live as your people, guided by your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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