Catalyst Church is doing a series of Advent reflections. Honored to have this devotional on Malachi 2:10-3:1 up here. Here's the intro:
Jesus comes to marriage-breakers—who’ve broken relationship with God and shattered union with one another. As Malachi looks forward to the coming Messiah, he centers on the language of covenant: this is marriage language; it speaks to union, intimacy, life-on-life together. With God and each other.
God desires union with his people.
But we break the marriage. God desires intimacy with us, but we prefer independence. God wants justice for the community, and we’d rather get our way.
Malachi cries out that the people have broken covenant, by unfaithfulness towards God and one another.
- Worshippers leave God—binding themselves to other gods.
- Spouses shatter families—chasing the mid-life crisis affair.
- Evil is called good—in a therapeutic attempt to help us feel better about the paths we’ve chosen.
Communion is shattered.
God’s flourishing for his world, his indwelling presence in & through his people, is smashed into a million fragmented shards…