Ordinary Times

January 30, 2023

Scripture Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

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?

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? Most of those of us who claim to be Christ-followers generally think we are following the ways of Jesus Christ. The interesting thing is that we have a very broad spectrum of interpretations of what those ways are and how we emulate them in our lives today. First, we must trust the stories of Jesus passed down by our faith ancestors. Even in the first century, we have the beginnings of different interpretations. We also must glean our understanding of Jesus Christ through stories all originally written in languages other than those we speak. Finally, we have over 2000 years of life experiences that have shaped our understanding of God. The truth is, we probably all interpret God’s path through our personal preferences, reading and following the scriptures with which we are most comfortable.

John, the latest gospel written, addressed that issue in the first sentence of that book, John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus Christ can never be fully understood through the written word. He is the Word, and we meet him through a combination of studying the Bible, sharing discussions with other God-followers, and, most importantly, developing a personal relationship with God through practicing spiritual disciplines that keep us in sync with God. Jesus even modeled that himself—going up the mountain to meditate and pray, throwing his body to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God to take what he was facing from him (Luke 22:42); and in the end, hanging on the cross reporting to God that he has finished the work he was sent to complete (John 19:30).

Hebrews 4:12 states that Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And it is in that reckoning that we find the truth and work toward the maturity in faith to find the oneness among all Christ-followers that will be the Kingdom of God.

Prayer: Lord, examine each of us and help us to find the best way we can do our part in oneness with all people. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.