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Comparing Generations




Matthew 11:16
"To what do I compare this generation?"

Did you live through the Great Depression? You are part of the Greatest Generation if you were born in 1924 or earlier and lived through the Great Depression and fought in WWII.  The Silent Generation was born 1925-1945; Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964; Generation X was born between 1965-1980; a Millennial was born between 1981-1996; Gen Z was born after 1997. (ref., Generation Fast Facts )

After his baptism Jesus tells John's disciples to tell John what they have heard and seen -- the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead raised, and the poor receiving good news. These must be signs of God's kingdom drawing near.

The problem with his generation was that people weren't listening. John's lifestyle is offensive, so he is accused of having a demon. Jesus' habit of eating and drinking with sinners is scandalous. Actually, these reasons are excuses to evade John and Jesus call to become part of the coming kingdom. That's why Jesus compares them to children in the marketplace who can't decide if they want to play wedding games or funeral games so they don't play either.

When I was a teenager my pastor took me and another youth to D.C. on an anti-war demonstration. I went because I liked my pastor and felt war was wrong. On June 21st I went on a Black Lives Matter protest in Milford, but for far different reasons. I attended because I am more aware of systemic injustice and the resulting suffering. I went because Micah 6:8 is my central theology and Jesus called me to build God's kingdom.

I believe we are in a generation of social upheaval. But I also believe God is opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf to bring so Good News is brought to those caught in systemic injustice situations.

How do you compare this current generation's response to systemic injustice?
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