December 9 - Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Paradox

Today's Readings

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus calls out "this generation" for its quickness to criticize, especially when it criticizes two opposites for different reasons! He says:

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,

‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,

‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’"

Jesus' words remind me of G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. Before Chesterton converted, he was amazed at the diverse criticisms leveled at Christianity, especially when there were two groups criticizing it for opposing characteristics: 

"As I read and re-read all the non-Christian or anti-Christian accounts of the faith... a slow and awful impression grew gradually but graphically upon my mind -- the impression that Christianity must be a most extraordinary thing. For not only (as I understood) had Christianity the most flaming vices, but it had apparently a mystical talent for combining vices which seemed inconsistent with each other.... What again could this astonishing thing be like which people were so anxious to contradict, that in doing so they did not mind contradicting themselves?"

Chesterton thinks these criticisms are caused by Christianity's many apparent paradoxes---pairs of seemingly self-contradictory ideas. 

What are some examples? Here are three: the penitential seasons like Advent and the feasts like Christmas, the sacredness of both consecrated celibacy and marital fruitfulness, and, in today's Gospel, the value of withdrawing from the world in a spirit of penance and the simultaneous value of sharing in the ordinary lives of the people we encounter. Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised when the critics (and the media!) get confused. 

Here's another one: the value of meditative reflection and charitable action. As Chesterton (and we) engage in reflection, Jesus' next words in the reading point us to action: "But wisdom is vindicated by her works." Jesus reconciles the paradox: reflection is not an end in itself but, if it leads to wisdom, it will naturally yield good fruits.

Kevin Gimpel