Daily Bread

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Then I will draw near to you for judgement; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

This passage from Malachi certainly resonates. This week, a friend in a small town in the US wrote on social media: "The day before yesterday ICE agents took a Guatemalan man from our laundromat. He’s the dad of school-aged kids who were born and raised here. The news spread via an email from the school superintendent. Our community is reeling." In the same week, I was also sickened and saddened to hear Donald Trump say on national television that 'diverse' people were, "psychologically inferior".

The prophet Malachi warned us that the coming Messiah — Jesus Christ — would be a refiner, and the gospel writer Luke wrote that through Jesus Christ, the hearts of humans would be revealed. This world matters to God. People matter to God.

Sorcerers are people who trick people to defraud and take advantage of them. Adulterers are people who disregard those they have promised to love and honour. Those who swear falsely are those who lie to protect their own interests at the expense of others. And as if this was not enough to drive home God's message, Malachi reminds us that God cares for the disadvantaged workers, the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners or 'aliens' amongst us.

We are created in the image of God and that includes our diversity, for without diversity we are liable to make God into our own image. Therefore, as Malachi reminds us, we must fear God, and this means we should respect and honour a God who loves all without prejudice, bias, discrimination, or partiality. Everyone matters, and that includes you. Today, let us celebrate diversity and be Jesus to all we meet or encounter.

Holy God
We live in a world where violence and oppression are rife,
yet a world that can contain incredible beauty.
Help me be a bringer of justice and mercy.
May the door of my heart always be open
to love and to serve the broken, marginalised, and outsider.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour
Amen