Homily for Friday of the 2nd Week of Advent

Jesus was a keen observer of people and often used everyday images drawn from people's daily lives to talk about the kingdom of God. In today's Gospel, He observed children at play in the marketplaces. Sometimes, the children played joyfully, pretending to play pipes while others danced to the music. Other times, their games reflected the sorrows of life, perhaps from having witnessed the death of an elderly family member. Some children sang dirges while others lamented and cried in response. However, some children refused to play at all. They wouldn't dance when the music played nor mourn when dirges were sung.

The unresponsive children reminded Jesus of certain grim and unresponsive adults. They showed no signs of mourning in response to John the Baptist's stern message, nor did they dance in response to Jesus' more cheerful message. They disregarded John, labeling him as possessed, and Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard.

Interestingly, Jesus identified His ministry with the piper and the dance. His life and message are good news — the Good News of God’s love for us.

God invites us to align ourselves with the “music” of Jesus, the “music” of His Spirit in our lives. We strive to attune ourselves to the LORD's rhythm and melody and let it influence everything we say and do. This is our Advent calling as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus.