Yes…But...

Wednesday of Week 24

Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

Luke 7:31-35

Luke's story visits the relationship between John and Jesus and pretty well surmises that they make a good tag team.  They are different but that isn't a problem for those who are genuinely seeking to understand.  

That doesn't describe the crowds in today's passage.  They seem to want only to play "over-against."  They prefer "lose-lose."  John starved himself and hung out in the desert…loser.  Jesus eats and drinks plenty…loser too.  

These people!  A bunch of whiners!

When the gospel offers such round characters I figure I'm supposed to find myself in them whether I want to or not.  In CPE I learned about the game "Yes…But."  It describes a conversation one might have with a friend/patient when every offering you make is responded to by "Yes…But."  It is a trap.  There is no winning.  What is missing is an attitude open to being pleased.

May I be open to being pleased, and surprised by joy!
Leave the but behind…stick with the yes!