Reading
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. (Malachi 3: 1-4) Reflection This is scripture we usually hear at Advent. As I read this scripture, I immediately pictured John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. He is yelling at everyone to turn from their sins. John is telling them that the Messiah is coming. He is trying to make the people pure, so they are ready to be near God. Usually, I think of the prophet Isaiah telling us about the coming of John and Jesus, but here is the same message in Malachi. Advent is a time we are proclaiming and preparing for the coming of Jesus. We are the people yelling in the wilderness to let everyone know about the coming Messiah. We should not just limit our proclaiming Jesus to Advent. We should shout the Message of God all year long. We should purify our hearts daily as we ask for forgiveness. We need to be a light to others so they can find their way to God. --Charlene Rineer Prayer: Loving God let us be people who proclaim your name to others. Help us prepare the way of the Lord for all. Helps us be a light in a world of darkness. Amen. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Pentecost, all the lessons tell us “God’s will be done.”
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