In this last Sunday before Lent, we have some scripture readings worth considering. One of the basic purposes of Lent is to take the opportunity to see if we are "on course", and these help.

The epistle speaks of charity. Given the various mis-uses of the word, I suggest we (myself, too) reflect on the word as St Paul intended it to mean. And, of all gifts we can have, none is greater than charity. In fact, it would seem that charity makes the others be effective. A point to ponder considering some things going on in the world.

And then, the story of Jesus as he begins his journey to Jerusalem. And a blind man calls to Jesus for help. Do you notice that in the Gospels, people in need tell Jesus that they are in need, with none of the "if it's your will" stuff? Perhaps it might mean that our prayers should be insistent?

We have here a familiar parable which, unfortunately, is so well known that the actual message is lost in the discussion of details. We begin by saying that in King James' time, a penny was an amount of money typical of a laborer's daily wage. There were workers who worked a full twelve hours, and others who worked for less hours, down to the last-hired who only worked one hour.

All things considered, the solution of the issue raised might be the only one that might actually be fair.

We know the story of Paul's conversion that happened on his journey to Damascus. We certainly see that God is going to get what God wants! But what of the Gospel lesson?

In the Gospel, we come across some of the most often mis-used and abused sayings in all of Christendom, most often used far away from the original context. Look closely, and you can see again the promise of fulfillment!

Something here that your Sunday school teacher didn't mention? We hear too sickeningly much about "God's will", "God's time", and "God's higher plan", but we don't hear enough about one of the main points that the Bible tries to get across: fulfillment".

You can't frost a cake until the cake itself has been baked. Likewise, the world arranged itself in a manner that was not only advantageous, but necessary for the work of Jesus to spread faster than authorities could move to suppress it!

Secrets revealed? The Gospel reading is the Finding in the Temple, in which Jesus tarries around in the Temple a few days after Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem to go back home to Nazareth following the Passover celebration. It is also the last thing we read about him as a child. The next event in his life that we will read about is his baptism by John the Baptist.

All of this leaves room for much speculation. We can, of course, speculate and surmise from what we find in other sources and tradition.

The reading in place of the Epistle is explicit in its prophecy. And the Gospel reading goes well with it, and goes further with the point we found in last week's readings. In stupidly simple terms, nobody is going to stand in God's way.

Since Joseph had no more trust in Herod's son Archelaus than in Herod, he made use of the same gap in jurisdictions that would figure much later in Jesus' trial. Joseph went to Galilee and to Nazareth, fulfilling yet another prophecy.

Look again at the story of the Holy Innocents and you will find another story and lesson which many people should try applying today! The slaughter of the Holy Innocents came about because King Herod asked the Wise Men how long they had been pursuing the star.

And with that, we can see the supreme folly of King Herod thinking that he was going to be able to stand in God's way and prevent the coming of the Savior! The prophecy was well-known and abundantly documented in scripture! Did Herod think that he was so mighty that he could stand in God's way?

If we look, we might find people committing similar follies in our time, such as thinking they know more than God, or ignoring Christ's teachings in favor of some text which his teachings superseded.

Once again, we have clues to something. The Pharisees send people to ask John The Baptist who he is, and John denies being any of the people he asks about, including Elijah. John denies being any of them, yet later Jesus makes a statement that seemed to say that John was indeed someone!

Of course, John would deny it. If he had said who he was, it would have diverted attention from what he was supposed to do, and the one whose coming he proclaimed.

John did say that the one they were waiting for was standing among them and they didn't know it! Another case of folks waiting for something that's already here?

There is a secret hidden in today's Gospel lesson, for those willing to dig and think a bit more deeply. John the Baptist's disciples ask Jesus that famous question as to whether he is the one they were waiting for. Jesus answers the question by telling them to look and see.

That is also great advice for us. So many of us sit and wait for something that's "coming", and I wonder how many of us are waiting for something that is already here, or something that we already have!

While the Epistle speaks some of what was as opposed to what is now, the Gospel gives us a prophecy by Jesus of what to expect and what to do. And he also promises that that generation of people alive at that time would not pass away before it came to be! So, what gives?

In some other places in the gospels and elsewhere, there are clues to solve that riddle. Those who wish to sit and wait for something that is "coming", nobody will stop them. But what about the rest of us?