Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. Mal 3:1-2
God is good, all the time.
Friends: It is the day before Christmas Eve. And as we get ready to welcome Jesus into our personal and collective life-world, we can reflect on the first reading and take the responsibility therein to become the messengers of God for our time.
Malachi is the last Old Testament book that transitions us into the New Testament. The name in Hebrew means "messenger," signifying one set apart to prepare others for the day of the Lord. While the subsequent verses in the passage mentions Elijah; scholars largely designate John the Baptist, who we hear about in the gospel, to be that messenger. Jesus himself seemed to suggest this notion when in Matt 17:12, he told the disciples, "I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."
At the epicenter of the passage, we are told, "And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire." The significance of the preceding verse to the Christian, is intimately linked to Paul’s notion of the body of the Christian as the temple of the Holy Spirit. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body” (1 Cor 6:19-20).
Christmas, in essence, is the interior and exterior decorations of the personal temples of the Holy Spirit, the mangers of our lives where the baby Jesus must take his respite and be given the permission purify us. The specks of dirt that obscure God's image and likeness in us is what Christ is coming into our lives to polish.
When Jesus comes into our lives, our character, habits, thoughts, words, and actions become uniquely beautiful and desirable; it shines for others to see. And if we permit that to happen, we become messengers to our family, friends, co-workers, and parishioners. When we place your life in the hands of Christ as gold at this Christmas, he will come in to refine our life and make it better than it is now; for he is the only refiner of life. Life in Christ can only and truly get more beautiful and better.
Prayer blessings: Father, you appointed this time for the renewing of our memory of the incarnation of your son. Grant that we may live this holy time, in the spirit of thanksgiving and renewal of our lives. Amen.