Monday, December 15, 2025
Nm 24:2-7, 5-17a; Mt 21:23-27
Today’s Gospel highlights that real openness results in conversion.
When the chief priests and the elders question Jesus regarding the source of his authority, Jesus confronts them with a counter-question. Why so? Is it some escapist mechanism in Jesus? No, it is not.
Jesus spots several problems in their question.
1. Jesus is aware of a question that is not innocent. I have read somewhere: ‘The question of someone who knows the answer is dangerous.’ They feign innocence, though Jesus is aware of their knowledge.
2. The chief priests and the elders have no willingness to dialogue with Jesus. Hence, when Jesus senses their intention to trap him, he asks a counter-question. Since their intention was not to seek truth but control Jesus, dialogue becomes impossible there.
3. The question by the religious leaders reveals that they try to bury the truth under their smartness and witticism. Jesus’ counter-question not only brings out their inner conflict but also their utmost concern for safety, not truth. Hence, Jesus dismisses empty reasoning.
Jesus asks the counter-question not to humiliate them, but to reveal the truth about themselves.
Conversion is possible for those who ask questions with an open heart.
Let us pray that we may be open to the truth to embrace it with all willingness.
Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar
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Excellent!
Fr. Ssedric Prakash sj, the proponentt of interreligious dialogue has gthis observation: “Y ou cannott dialogue withe deevil”. He said that in the context of the sttitude of the RSS in Gujarat.