Memorial of St.
Lucy, virgin and martyr
(Isaiah 48:17-19; Matthew 11:16-19)
In Matthew’s gospel John the Baptist and Jesus preach using
the very same words. They both tell the
people, “’Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Nevertheless, they are
different kinds of people. As today’s
gospel states, John has a very ascetic life.
He lives in the desert and eats locusts.
Meanwhile, Jesus stays around people.
He enjoys a full meal and a cup of wine in the company of others.
Rather than heed their common message, the people reject it
outright. They say that they do so
because John is possessed (i.e., crazy) and Jesus is a drunkard. But these are just excuses. The people do not want to repent. They are comfortable enough living as they
do. Unfortunately, they do not realize
what they will be are missing with the loss of the kingdom.
We must not make the same mistake. Even if we go to church every day, there are
still plenty reforms to make. We may
have a temper that can go out of control or a tendency to understate the
truth. We may be given to gossip or even
to pornography. We need to take to heart
that something wonderful is coming our way.
Let’s make the reforms necessary to take full advantage of it.
