Those who actually do the work will be revealed to be the righteous ones.
This week’s word from the First Testament comes from the prophet Malachi. This passage has a lot to say about refining people to be more righteous—but these words are the ones that stuck with me, “The once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not. “ This speaks so loudly in this current time—as there are so many people feigning righteousness and claiming to be speaking God’s word, when what they are really doing is preaching hate and exclusion. Malachi reminds us that these deeds will be seen through—that ultimately God sees and WE will see the truth—and we will know who is really serving God. I have a few guesses though, and I’m pretty sure it’s not Fred Phelps’ crew or Dennis Prager. Malachi says God will come after those who are adulterers, who swear falsely, who oppress hired workers in their wages, who treat widows and orphans poorly, and those who “thrust aside the alien”. That last one—thrusting aside the alien? Isn’t that what people against helping refugees are doing? Thrusting aside the alien? I’m looking at you Donald Trump. There’s a popular meme going around the internet right now—it says “Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.” That, to me, sums up this message of Malachi and the message of the season. Those who actually do the work will ultimately be revealed to be the righteous ones—not the ones loudly proclaiming their righteousness while thrusting aside those who need love the most.