A feeling of exasperation seems to prevail in the reading today. In the first reading the prophet Isaiah laments the disobedience to God's commandments of the people of his generation. God has given them His laws for their good but their failure to obey these laws has resulted in them being conquered by a foreign nation. God earnestly desires to give His people blessings. If they had obeyed God's commandments, His blessings would have been poured upon their lives and upon the nation.

A similar sense of exasperation is evident in the Gospel passage. Nothing seems to convince the people of Jesus' generation that the Promised Messiah has come into their midst. When John came and preached a message of repentance and foretold the coming of the Messiah, the people accused John of being possessed. When Jesus himself came and revealed who he is, the people called him a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

What about our present generation? Do we live according to God's commandments? Do we really believe in Jesus and obey his teachings? Or are we still waiting to be convinced? If yes, what are we waiting for and whom are we waiting for?

Let us not be like the people of Isaiah's time whose disobedience caused them punishment and suffering. Let us not be like the people during Jesus' time who were not convinced that the Messiah was in their presence. The Lord is constantly coming to us. Let us recognise and obey him.