Friday 11 December 2020 - Second week of Advent - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11, 16-19 - The Lord is coming: go out to meet him! He is the Prince of Peace.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is confused by the attitude of the crowd, to the point of losing all reference. The reason is that this crowd is stubborn and seems to be in denial: "We played the flute and you did not dance. We sang laments, and you didn't hit your chest". This is a sign of a certain asociability. Moreover, they like to spy and don't miss any opportunity to criticise. Notice how Jesus describes it here : "John has come, indeed; he does not eat, he does not drink, and they say, 'He is possessed!'" The Son of Man has come; he eats and he drinks, and they say, "Behold a glutton and a drunkard".

The lesson to be learned from this is this. First of all, let us not disturb others with our delusions: let us accept the situation and know how to live reality, let us not be constantly on the defensive and set ourselves up as pessimistic opponents. Such an attitude is not conducive to fulfilment and worse still it is unworthy to receive the Saviour. We are now in the time of Advent, a time dedicated to reflection to change our lives. Secondly, let us not disturb God. Sometimes we lead an external life that is diametrically opposed to our internal life. This is hypocrisy. Let us know that God always knows everything: what we need is to remain simple and authentic, because we will be judged and justified by what we have done.