Tuesday 23 December 2008

Background

The Christmas story is full of angels, and this passage is noexception. The name Malachi can be understood as either 'my angel'or 'my messenger'. Very little else is known about the author ofthis book. No mention is made of either his country or his lineage,which means that his message must stand on its own merit, ratherthan on any inherited authority. Written some time during the lasthalf of the 5th century BC, the book is a compelling call to returnto a life of faith and worship of God in God's holy Temple becausethe Day of the Lord was coming.

The authors of the Gospels of both Matthew and Mark were clearlyaware of this text. They clearly identified John the Baptist withthe messenger that Malachi declares as the Old Testament prophetElijah (Matthew11:14, Mark6:15). This in turn enables Jesus to be presented andrecognised by those who were familiar with the Old Testamentprophesies as "The Lord" and the "messenger of the covenant" - theone who is like refiner's fire and fullers' soap.

Refiner's fire was used to melt gold and precious metals until theywere so hot that any impurity could be skimmed off. Fullers' soapwas an alkali made from plant ashes which a 'fuller' (someone whocleaned and thickened freshly woven cloth [usually wool] to make it'full') used to scrub the new cloth to remove any stains from it.The more the cloth was scrubbed with the soap, the cleaner andfuller the cloth became.

Malachi's charge was that the worship of God's people would only beacceptable to God if the "descendants of Levi" - the priests - werepurified and cleansed. If Christians accept this passage as aprophecy about the advent of Christ therefore, then they must alsoallow themselves to be confronted with the same questions thatMalachi asks of the priests of his own time. Who can endure the dayof God's coming and who can stand when God is present amongstus?

To Ponder

Where is the voice of prophecy concerninghypocrisy and complacency in the Church today?

To what extent have Christians sold the gospel(good news of Jesus) short by encouraging people to believe thatthe advent of Christ will be more like a children's nativity story,full of sweetness and light, than a refining fire?