On her grandpa’s lap a little girl asks, “Did God make you, Pop?” “Yep! He did long ago”. She asks again, “And did He make me too?”. “Yep! He did recently”. Then the girl says, “Well, God is getting better at it, isn’t He? In the first reading, God promises to make things better for His exiled people. He will make the weak strong, provide the essentials for life: water, food and herb trees. As we know, no matter how faithfully we serve God and his Kingdom, things do not get better but rather worse: more evil than good, destruction than restoration. Is God really getting better? John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, concluding the old time and the Lord beginning the new era of the Kingdom. Though John was the greatest among the old time servants, he was beheaded. Our service for the Kingdom in confronting the growing evil, no matter what it costs, ultimately makes us greater in the Kingdom of heaven. God is getting better, isn’t He?”

Prayer: Abba Father, let your hand be on me today. Amen.