Daily Retreat 11/18/07
2007 Nov 18 SUN:THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Mal 3:19-20a/ Ps 98:5-6. 7-8. 9/ 2 Thes 3:7-12/ Lk 21:5-19
From today’s readings: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble.... The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.... You know how one must imitate us, for we did not act in a disorderly way among you.... All that you see here- the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down....”
My Messenger
Today is one of only two Sundays in a span of three years in which the first reading is taken from the book of the prophet Malachi. Since the short, short reading encapsulates many basic biblical insights, it certainly makes sense to take a closer look, to listen with all of our heart, so that such crucial words not fall on closed ears.
What do you know about the prophet Malachi? Don’t be afraid to say, “Nothing” because that might be all there is to know about the prophet named “Malachi.” What I mean is, “Malachi” in the original Hebrew means, “My messenger.” So we just don’t know for sure whether Malachi is a proper name, or merely a descriptive title of this prophet. The most famous verse of this book (3:1), reads, “Behold, I send My messenger to prepare the way before Me.” This verse is cited or at least alluded to in all four of the Gospels in reference to John the Baptist, the one sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
Although not the last written chronologically, in Christian bibles, Malachi is placed as the last book in the Old Testament - the prophecies about the Messiah and His precursor (John the Baptist) make it a most appropriate bridge to the New Testament. Malachi is a short book, but the brief chapters are steeped with terse verses: like a small cup of concentrated expresso coffee, the prophet packs a powerful punch in a petite package, attempting to wake up and shake up the people of God with the reminder that life is ultimately a crucial choice for or against God. Are YOU ready for the coming day of the Lord? Read the whole book: the prophet’s question and answer style clearly outlines the issues being addressed and the wrongs being redressed.
Evidently in Malachi’s day, the people (and the priests!) were shortchanging God with their selfishness and “me-first!” attitudes. Yes, nominally, the people were still practicing their faith, but very complacently, with the presumption that whatever little leftover time or tithe they gave should be enough to satisfy God. In their arrogant attitude, they eroded the Covenant with countless compromises in carrying-through the Commandments. Divorce is specifically mentioned as one of the evils that had become casually widespread, and the pop psychology of the day was wearying God Himself with the pernicious lie that sin didn’t really matter, because of the absurd assumption that “everyone who does evil is gooood in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them.” (2:17).
Now remember, these are observations of the people in Malachi’s day, about 25 hundred years ago! And yet don’t these words chillingly apply to our own day as well? Who can contradict the cynic’s sneer that today, as in that time, "indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity"? (Mal 3:15). This is a problem, no less for ourselves, as for the Israelites of long ago. What good then is it to put God first? “What do we profit by keeping His command?” (3:14). Why shouldn’t we just give in to our selfishness, and the temptation of putting God on the backburner, and creatively bending the biblical moral code whenever it interferes with our modern idea of self-fulfillment?
Malachi penetrates the clouds of these cynical musings with a bolt of biblical brilliance: And a record book was written before Him of those who fear the LORD and trust in His name. And they shall be Mine, says the LORD of hosts, My own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between him who serves God, and him who does not serve Him.
For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays!
Speaking of the day of the Lord’s coming, the message of God’s messenger is clear: a nominal commitment to religion is worthless! Rather, blameless conduct, covenant fidelity and true worship are what God has a right to expect from us. As we enter the closing days of the Church’s liturgical year, remember that the message and mission of Malachi is not passé, because God wants to call you too, “Malachi - My Messenger!”
Mal 3:19-20a/ Ps 98:5-6. 7-8. 9/ 2 Thes 3:7-12/ Lk 21:5-19
From today’s readings: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble.... The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.... You know how one must imitate us, for we did not act in a disorderly way among you.... All that you see here- the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down....”
My Messenger
Today is one of only two Sundays in a span of three years in which the first reading is taken from the book of the prophet Malachi. Since the short, short reading encapsulates many basic biblical insights, it certainly makes sense to take a closer look, to listen with all of our heart, so that such crucial words not fall on closed ears.
What do you know about the prophet Malachi? Don’t be afraid to say, “Nothing” because that might be all there is to know about the prophet named “Malachi.” What I mean is, “Malachi” in the original Hebrew means, “My messenger.” So we just don’t know for sure whether Malachi is a proper name, or merely a descriptive title of this prophet. The most famous verse of this book (3:1), reads, “Behold, I send My messenger to prepare the way before Me.” This verse is cited or at least alluded to in all four of the Gospels in reference to John the Baptist, the one sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
Although not the last written chronologically, in Christian bibles, Malachi is placed as the last book in the Old Testament - the prophecies about the Messiah and His precursor (John the Baptist) make it a most appropriate bridge to the New Testament. Malachi is a short book, but the brief chapters are steeped with terse verses: like a small cup of concentrated expresso coffee, the prophet packs a powerful punch in a petite package, attempting to wake up and shake up the people of God with the reminder that life is ultimately a crucial choice for or against God. Are YOU ready for the coming day of the Lord? Read the whole book: the prophet’s question and answer style clearly outlines the issues being addressed and the wrongs being redressed.
Evidently in Malachi’s day, the people (and the priests!) were shortchanging God with their selfishness and “me-first!” attitudes. Yes, nominally, the people were still practicing their faith, but very complacently, with the presumption that whatever little leftover time or tithe they gave should be enough to satisfy God. In their arrogant attitude, they eroded the Covenant with countless compromises in carrying-through the Commandments. Divorce is specifically mentioned as one of the evils that had become casually widespread, and the pop psychology of the day was wearying God Himself with the pernicious lie that sin didn’t really matter, because of the absurd assumption that “everyone who does evil is gooood in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them.” (2:17).
Now remember, these are observations of the people in Malachi’s day, about 25 hundred years ago! And yet don’t these words chillingly apply to our own day as well? Who can contradict the cynic’s sneer that today, as in that time, "indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity"? (Mal 3:15). This is a problem, no less for ourselves, as for the Israelites of long ago. What good then is it to put God first? “What do we profit by keeping His command?” (3:14). Why shouldn’t we just give in to our selfishness, and the temptation of putting God on the backburner, and creatively bending the biblical moral code whenever it interferes with our modern idea of self-fulfillment?
Malachi penetrates the clouds of these cynical musings with a bolt of biblical brilliance: And a record book was written before Him of those who fear the LORD and trust in His name. And they shall be Mine, says the LORD of hosts, My own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between him who serves God, and him who does not serve Him.
For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays!
Speaking of the day of the Lord’s coming, the message of God’s messenger is clear: a nominal commitment to religion is worthless! Rather, blameless conduct, covenant fidelity and true worship are what God has a right to expect from us. As we enter the closing days of the Church’s liturgical year, remember that the message and mission of Malachi is not passé, because God wants to call you too, “Malachi - My Messenger!”
posted by FrPitstick | 11/16/2007
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