Mt 3:7-12
Meditatio/Reflection:
"You brood of vipers!" John the Baptist says to the Sadducees and Pharisees (Mt 3:7). As serpents are often associated with Satan, we might hear "You children of the devil!" We often see in the Gospels, the Jewish leaders investigating a situation which may fall under their jurisdiction, and yet it's often from a position of skepticism or doubt. How often did they try to impede Jesus in his public ministry? No wonder John is so critical of them here. He is trying to get the people ready for the coming of Christ through his baptism of repentance, and yet these people are potentially disrupting that by offering a different teaching.
But what about me? How am I like the Sadducees and Pharisees? I hear the admonition to bear good fruit. I know I try to lead people to Christ, like John, but do I? Am I more like the Sadducees and Pharisees in their sense of self-righteousness? A frequent prayer of mine is may nothing that I do cause another to turn away from God. I pray this especially with for my wife and kids. I pray it most fervently when I've been harsh or uncharitable or selfish. It has often led me to seek forgiveness for however I treated them and to mend the relationship. If I don't, I am no better than the "brood of vipers" John condemns here.
Oratio/Thanksgiving:
Lord, thank you for inspiring me to lead people to you, especially my wife, my kids, and my students.
Oratio/Prayer Intentions:
Lord, may nothing I do today lead a single soul away from you.
Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:
Oh Hellos: Dear Wormwood
Saint Quote of the Day:
"Your faith should be for you a light which guides you in all things, and a shining light for those you instruct, to lead them on the path to heaven."
-St. John Baptist de la Salle
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