Guest Scripture Reflection

In the first reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we hear of Cyrus, a pagan emperor who vowed to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem for the Jews who had been carried captive into the land of Babylon. In the second reading, Paul recognizes the wonderful gift of new life given to us by a gracious God. In the Gospel, we hear of the messenger that God sent into the world to show us how much he cares for us. The bright light of his divine love pierces the darkness of our human frailty.

Old Testament prophets often met with resistance because people didn’t like their calls to repentance. It’s possible that some of those who first heard Isaiah’s words in today’s first reading resisted for the opposite reason. They may not have liked his message of consolation.

Advent is the season of waiting. And, yes, at the deepest level of my being, I wait for a new celebration of Jesus’s birth in Nazareth so many years ago and for an ever-deepening consciousness of the presence of the Cosmic Christ in our hearts and in our universe (John1:1- 8).

The parable in this Gospel from Matthew calls us to be always prepared to live responsibly before God. We hear of an invitation to join a wedding party, that is, an invitation to participate in the eternal joy of heaven.

When God led Israelite slaves out of Egypt, some 3,000 years ago, they had very little idea what he was about. He guided them in the wilderness of Sinai, provided for their needs in remarkable ways, then told them that he wanted to establish a permanent relationship with them as a group. “Listen to my voice,” he said, “I will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Who could have known?