What Then Will This Child Be?

 

All the  Lord's paths are mercy and faithfulness.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, December 23rd of Advent  
Texts: Malachi 3:1-4.4:5-6; Psalm 25:4-5,8-9,10,14; Luke 1:57-66 

People, in today’s gospel reading, asked, “What then will this child be?” He is the messenger of God. In today’s first reading, God says, “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the  Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple”. He is to prepare the ways of the Lord. Today’s Psalm tells us about the ways of the Lord. We read, “All the  Lord's paths are mercy and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and commands.” He is to prepare us to embrace God’s mercy and acknowledge His faithfulness.  

John, as messenger of the Lord, is to speak of God’s mercy and faithfulness to His people. John does preach baptism of repentance, confession and forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:1-8). God’s forgiveness of His people is a show of His faithfulness to His covenant. St. John says, “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). 

God also tells us John’s work as the promised Elijah

John is also the promised Elijah. God says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the  Lord comes.” God also tells us John’s work as the promised Elijah. He says, “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse." John, as the promised Elijah, will mend our relationship with God and with one another.  

The question to us is this: What does God want us to be? St. Paul answers it thus: “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love” (Eph. 1:4). We see, today, that John fulfilled the purpose of God for his life. Am I fulfilling the will of God for my life? The will of God for us in Christ is to be holy and blameless. We fulfil the will of God by being holy and blameless in Christ.  

Prayer 

Almighty ever-living God, as we see how the Nativity of your Son according to the flesh draws near, we pray that to us, your unworthy servants, mercy may flow from your Word, who chose to become flesh of the Virgin Mary and establish among us his dwelling, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke