Open-ended,
Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of the Hebrew Bible Readings set for the
Eucharist in the Australian Prayer Book.
ADVENT
2, Year C...
MALACHI 3:1-14....For the Gospel
(LK 3:1-6) scroll above.
NOTES: 1]Always read the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our understanding of God in the New Testament.2] Malachi ( = 'my messenger')
is probably the work of an anonymous Prophet of about 445BC by which
time the Hebrews are back from
exile in Babylon, have rebuilt the Temple, & are facing issues like
laxity in worship, & marriages with pagans. 3] Christians see the opening of
this passage as foretelling the arrival on the scene of John the
Baptiser, & then Jesus himself.. 4] Bear in mind that God's
time is not human time! WARMING UP: Are we
ever asked to function as somebody's 'messenger'? How do we feel about
that role?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1-4 Is the idea of
God using someone as a messenger a bit foreign to us today? Do we see
our religious leaders as God's messengers? What about those, ours or
anyone else's who deliver messages not in keeping with our
understanding of God as revealed in Jesus? Does that bring all whom we
should respect as God's messengers under some cloud of suspicion? How
do we go about respecting the message even if we don't respect the
messenger?
What actually is God's covenant? Is it
something we delight in? Or a bit of a burden? In practice, how do we
understand the paradox of a God who 'comes & goes, & comes
again, yet never really leaves us'? Would we describe any of our own
experiences of God coming into our life as 'sudden'? Has the idea of
faith maybe become too much of a leisurely journey?
How do we feel about God as refining fire, cleansing agent, or
purifier? Is that a 'side' of God best left alone? What does it take to
make any of our offerings, of any kind, pleasing to God?
5
Do we feel some Christians put too much emphasis on God as Judge, but
others not enough? What about us? Are there some categories of
people we just can't wait to have God 'bear witness against'? What if
we feature on someone else's list?
6-7 If
God doesn't change, does our perception of God change? How much has
Jesus changed our understanding of the God revealed in these old Hebrew
Scriptures? Is it that God has changed, or the way we discern God has -
or needs to? Or, simply, that we
need to change?
8- 12 Do
we ever rob, or at least short-change God in some sense? (Not just
monetarily!) If so, what do we need to do about that? Do we ever feel
we, or someone else, or our nation is cursed? Is that compatible with
the God we see revealed in Jesus? How closely, if at all, do we
personally see 'natural disasters' as the hand of God? Is that compatible with the God of the
Gospels? Are we ourselves as appreciative as we might be of our land as
a 'land of delight'?
13-14 Do we ever
'think harsh words' of God, or think it's vain to serve God or to keep
his command, or to mourn a relationship with God we recognize we've
lost? Does today's in-word about death, 'closure', have any real
meaning outside our relationship with God?
