Signs of the Messiah
advent to epiphany - day 19

Today’s readings: Isaiah 54:1-10; Luke 7:24-30

Future Glory for Jerusalem

"Sing, O childless woman! Break forth into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, even though you never gave birth to a child. For the woman who could bear no children now has more than all the other women," says the LORD. "Enlarge your house; build an addition; spread out your home! For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will take over other nations and live in their cities.

"Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more, for your Creator will be your husband. The LORD Almighty is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you back from your grief—as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband," says your God. "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back. In a moment of anger I turned my face away for a little while. But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer.

"Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the earth and destroy its life, so now I swear that I will never again pour out my anger on you. For the mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but even then I will remain loyal to you. My covenant of blessing will never be broken," says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

After they left, Jesus talked to the crowd about John. "Who is this man in the wilderness that you went out to see? Did you find him weak as a reed, moved by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces, not in the wilderness. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

'Look, I am sending my messenger before you,
and he will prepare your way before you.'

I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the most insignificant person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!"

When they heard this, all the people, including the unjust tax collectors, agreed that God's plan was right, for they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in religious law had rejected God's plan for them, for they had refused John's baptism.

Long before “reality TV,” Jesus warned us to get real about his Kingdom and to listen to John the Baptist, who announced its arrival. How are we using our time to prepare for the one that John has promised? Are we rooted in reality, or in the make-believe promises offered us of what Christmas is all about?

-- Catholic Update, “Advent Reflections: Longing for Peace”

taken from advent to epiphany: celebrating the Christmas Season

i am not catholic, but i have a friend in texas that made me think about this, and i think it is cool.