Grace and Space

Lk 7:31-35

Vindicated by wisdom: Jesus compares the people of his time to children, who cannot agree on two possible types of play. If some play the flute, others will not dance. If some sing a dirge, others will not weep. There is no unity in the play of the children; they merely sit in the marketplace and taunt each other.
For Luke, the “people of this generation” represents the members of his church. He is dealing with middle-class people who are religiously insincere. They act like children. They make no commitments. All they do is taunt each other. They criticize John the Baptist for his austerity. John’s penitential practices lead some people to believe that he was possessed by a demon.
They criticize the Son of Man, Jesus, for his lack of austerity and his association with outcasts—tax collectors and sinners. Jesus’ joyful, accepting gratitude toward all people got him a reputation as a glutton and a drunkard.
Luke is warning those who have rejected John and Jesus that they are acting like children. For Luke, John and Jesus are the children of wisdom. John prepared the way for Jesus, who preached the kingdom of God. All who are children of wisdom, in contrast to those who are like children sitting in the marketplace taunting each other, know and believe in John and Jesus.