Gospel (Mt 11,16-19) - At that time, Jesus said to the people: «But to whom shall I compare this generation? It is similar to those children sitting in the squares who turn to their other companions and say: "We played the flute for you and you didn't dance, or sang a lament and you didn't cry." John came, who neither eats nor drinks, and they said: "He has a demon." The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they said: "Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." But wisdom was vindicated by his works."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus speaks of his and the Baptist's generation. It is an invitation to consider ourselves our generation too. We are experiencing – as Pope Francis likes to say – a change of era: the past one is over and the future one does not yet appear. The globalization that overtook us at the turn of the millennium was only of the market, but not of brotherhood between peoples. We could apply to this historical moment the very short parable that Jesus tells in this Gospel passage. In its brevity there is the description of the reproach for what was missing in the square: "We played the flute for you and you didn't dance, we sang a lament and you didn't beat your chest!". What does Jesus mean? I think we can see in it the condemnation of those entirely internal debates - the example in this case is between those who want to play at the funeral and those at the wedding - which in fact block everything. The square remains empty. Indeed, how many useless debates even in Christian communities! Jesus wants to shake us by the urgency of the mission. We must remove all hesitation: there is an urgency to communicate the Gospel in the streets of this generation. Jesus then reveals the "game" that must be played. And this is what the accusation against Jesus concerns, that is, his predilection for the joy and happiness of people and at the same time his friendship with tax collectors and sinners. For Jesus, this accusation is, however, true wisdom: "But wisdom was recognized as righteous by the works it does." The reproach made to him of being a glutton and a drunkard, as well as a friend of tax collectors and sinners, in truth, perfectly describes his mission. Once again that primacy of love for the poor emerges which characterizes the love of God itself.