The new Elijah
Gospel: Mt 17:9a, 10-13
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121424.cfm
This gospel references the last verses of the Old Testament in the book of Malachi, “Now I am sending to you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day; he will turn the heart of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction.”
The mission of the second coming of Elijah was to bring reconciliation between people and to prepare a way of the Lord. The beauty of this reconciliation was that it went beyond the child to parent relationship, but was also inclusive of parents reconciling with their children. It was considered a complete reconciliation. As “Honor your father and mother” is the one of the Ten Commandments, the consideration of reconciliation would normally have only been inclusive of child to parent, but not parent to child. Adding parent to child is a way for scripture to show the completeness of reconciliation beyond the law, beyond generations.
This scripture was well known by the Jewish people around Jesus’s time and the early church. The “second coming” of Elijah was a sign for the coming of the Lord, thus, people were looking for it. The Jewish people were in search of salvation and redemption, and the early church looked at John the Baptist as Elijah as proof that Jesus was the son of God.
The passage in Malichi also mentions the possibility of God destroying the land.I always struggle with scripture that states that God will cause suffering and destruction. For me, this scripture is more understood as the need for complete reconciliation because without reconciliation, we are left with destruction. We are the cause of our destruction when we don’t reconcile ourselves to each other. The opposite is also true; through the full acceptance of love, we are instrumental in salvation. It is through love that we encounter God and bring about the kingdom.
With the coming of Jesus, God was brought to us for reconciliation to save the world. As we sing in the hymn:
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
May we find this peace and mercy through reconciliation this season. Amen.
