Matthew 11:16 - 19
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
The immediate setting of these Jesus-words is a playground or a marketplace where children are playing a variation of "follow-the-leader." But the game is not getting off the ground because the "followers" are not following the "leaders." The leaders are giving the cues, but the followers -- who are peers, or playmates -- are not responding.
John the Baptist gave cues, inviting people to repentance, but many did not respond.
Jesus gave cues, offering a heavenly feast, but many did not like the company he kept, and were offended that if they "attended" the feast they would have to sit at the table with ne'er-do-wells.
So the cues were rejected, the implicit rejection of those who may not have said "no" with their lips, but who said "no" because of their refusal to participate.
Thus, it is the last sentence of the saying that stands out to me today: "Wisdom is proved right by her actions," or "Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Truth is not determined by its number of adherents, by the number of people who give ascent to its propositions. Truth is not determined by how many people follow the leaders cues.
Truth is truth, and ultimately it is witnessed in what it does.
In other words, the truth of God is not determined by how many people follow or do not follow along . . . it is not determined by who follows. The witness of Truth is what it does, how it operates in the world. It is not determined by the ones who follow (or do not follow).
I'll make this more personal. Who God is, is not determined by my response to God. Who God is, is not determined by who I think God is. God's Being is not contingent on whether or not I listen to God, follow God, obey God, link my life to God. . . .
It is human hubris, for instance, to think that debate or theological inquiry has any ultimate benefit. I get it that our lives are shaped in some respects by what we believe; but does the fact that I believe some doctrine or theological concept ultimately make that concept more valid? Does my belief -- or non-belief -- change its truth?
Whether I follow or not, Truth is truth.
Whether I believe or not, Truth is truth.
What is wise and true is borne out in actions and deeds, whether I go with it or not.
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