It always seems as if the season of Advent goes by in a blur. I find that I am not nearly ready to celebrate the coming of the Savior, and am scrambling last minute to take care of the remaining details. Perhaps it was similar for the people of Israel: even though they knew the Messiah was coming, amidst the annual feasts and sacrifices, somehow, Jesus comes in a hidden way and catches them unprepared.
In today's Gospel, we find a small vignette into the lives of those who did prepare well for the coming of the Savior. Notice that it is not in the hustle and bustle of the life surrounding the Temple or major areas of economic life, but rather, it is in the hill country in a small town where the graces of Christ are first being born in the life of John the Baptist. John will go ahead to prepare the way for the Lord's coming; and when he comes, Christ brings the fullness of the meaning of those feasts. By his sacrifice on the cross, he fulfills perfectly the Mosaic law and establishes his majestic reign, obtaining for all the ends of the earth what could be obtained no other way: a reign of everlasting peace.
On this fourth Sunday of Advent, let us take the remaining moments that we have left to reflect upon the meaning of this sacrificial love; and upon his coming to us, like Elizabeth, let us be prepared to greet our Savior, Jesus Christ.