Today's first reading comes from the prophet Zechariah. He wrote to the people after the Babylonian exile. The main emphasis of his prophecy was to encourage the people to rebuild and restore the Jerusalem temple as quickly as possible.
      Zechariah tells the people that the Messiah will be someone they don’t expect, hence, get to work! We, of  course, recognize this image of Jesus from the first gospel on Palm Sunday. It is always a good reminder for us that our encounters with Jesus don’t always happen in the ways we think they should occur. Like the people in Zechariah’s time, hopefully we are doing our part to be ready to meet the messiah.