Friday, December 6

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.
Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple;
the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
Malachi 3:1

When my husband and I were first married in the early 80s, there were no cell phones, nor email, nor social media platforms. When he was deployed with the U.S. Army, we relied on letter writing to keep in touch. It was before his first deployment in our marriage when we were told that he would be gone through my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These upcoming special occasions looked bleak and lonely without my husband and best friend by my side. Unexpected joy came when a messenger from my husband’s unit sought me out to deliver the news that my husband would be rotated earlier than planned and was expected home the day before Thanksgiving. I later learned that the messenger was a Soldier with no close family who had volunteered for the rotation. His selfless action was a true testament to Jesus’ commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.

In today’s verse, the prophet Malachi speaks the word of God to Israel saying that the messenger John the Baptist will come and prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. While you and I are not “the” messenger preparing the way when the Lord comes, we are still His messengers to the world. Our ultimate job is the same as John the Baptist, to point people to Christ.

Christ’s blessings to you this advent season,
Jeannie Barrera