By Steve Hall
The Father didn’t want his Son to be overlooked or missed. So we were given the clues and ultimately the messenger. The coming of the Anointed of the Father was not to be a surprise. An announcement would precede him.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Luke 1:57-66
Though we understand ‘Malachi’ to be correctly translated as ‘my messenger,’ and we know nothing about the historical person, his prophetic words are still important. He spoke at a time when the Israelites had returned from exile in Babylon and had rebuilt the Temple, but were still a subject nation. The initial enthusiasm of the return had begun to fade. Malachi defended what God had done and insisted that the divine promises would be kept.
The opening lines of chapter three, the words read today, have been understood by the Church from the beginning as a reference to John the Baptist. John was the messenger sent to prepare the way. That much is clear. What draws my attention, however, is the attention to detail that we find in God’s dealings with his people. A savior, an anointed one, a messiah had been promised multiple times throughout the Scriptures. Each time, a bit more detail was given. He would be a descendant of David. He would bring justice. He would bring peace. He would bring forgiveness of sin. He would triumph over his enemies. All creation would be different because of his coming.
The details were not for the messiah except that the Father didn’t want him to be missed when he came. The details were for humanity so that mankind might recognize him. The Father didn’t want his Son to be overlooked or missed. So we were given the clues and ultimately the messenger. The coming of the Anointed of the Father was not to be a surprise. An announcement would precede him.
The same attention to detail persists throughout Jesus’ life. That’s why the regular contact in prayer. That’s why Jesus’ frequent prayers of thanksgiving.
But, as usual — at least with me — one thought leads to another. Questions arise. Attention is required.
An incredible amount of detail is found in God’s Scriptural words about the coming of his Son. But no less attention to detail has been paid to me in the formation of my life. They say that hindsight is 20/20. That truth has even greater significance as the years go by. A push here. A shove there. A wrong path then. A worthwhile road now. Twists, turns, advances, retreats — it has certainly not been a smooth one. But it is looking back over the path traversed that the hand of God, the gentle whisper, the guiding footsteps become most evident.
All this leads to an inescapable conclusion: Love is not restricted, contained, or limited. It is as boundless as the universe. There is no other choice but to recognize that the Father loves me as much as he loves his Son.