Malachi 3:1-3

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. (NRSV)

What if the task isn’t solely personal righteousness? What if the task is more communal? What if the life of faith is a group project? For some people, that is comforting, for others, it’s terrifying. There’s a big difference between awareness that injustice exists and doing something to address it. There are many things we can do as individuals, and those are important. Education, prayer, individual action, providing resources, all are crucial. But until we gather together as the children of God, our individual efforts are sure to fail.

I think G-d knows this. I think that is the point. G-d does not desire for us to feel isolated from our brothers and sisters. G-d craves for us to be in fellowship with each other. Anything that drives wedges between people is not from G-d. Jesus walked this earth to show us how to live in community. He healed, he forgave, he told stories, he challenged injustice, he encouraged us to live together in community. The coming of the LORD is an opportunity for us to evaluate our lives. How would we prepare for the LORD? A refugee born to a teenager from Palestine? Would we side with Herod and report their location? Or would we go home another way? It is not enough to just avoid persecution. We must gather with people who are different from us. We must elevate marginalized voices and care for our brothers and sisters in Christ. How are we preparing the way? As the song suggests, will we “lift up the lowly,” “give rest to the weary,” or “give hope to the hopeless”? We can only change systems of policy and economics as a community. We are called to do so. Prepare the way of the LORD.

Contributed by Rob Button