Advent Devotional by Spencer Stith
Malachi 3:1-4
Where is the God of justice? 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 washers’ 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. (Malachi 3:1-3)
Where is the God of justice? Our discipleship practices, as followers of Jesus, frequently incorporate the pursuit of justice coupled with a desire to make a meaningful difference in our world. If we are honest though, along the way we experience a profound letdown as we seek to be faithful in a world besieged by seemingly intractable problems of injustice. We see the need for liberation, but we don’t always see it happening in our proximity. We witness shocking pain around the world, and we simply crave a respite. We can’t find a way on our own. Help!
Malachi proclaims to his audience that divine help is coming as he reminds of God’s imminent judgment “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 God” (2:17- 3:5).
When we find ourselves bumping up against injustice, psychiatrist and theologian Gerald May offers an analogical road map for us to use along the way in his 1991 book, Addiction and Grace. May first details the psychological and neurological developmental pathways that promote addiction while acknowledging the challenges to be addressed in addiction recovery. You probably have a simplified idea of the landscape he covers, as patients hit rock bottom before discovering the need to reorient their brain chemistry and behavioral patterns so that they can live free from the things holding them back.
However, May provides an additional spiritual dimension, by overlying his roadmap to physical addiction recovery on top of the corresponding journeys found in Scripture from the garden (Genesis 1-3), through the wilderness (e.g. the Exodus from Egypt and Jesus’ temptation in Matthew 4), to the pathway back home again (p. 94).
This trek through the wilderness can be a refining time (Malachi 3:2-3) to help us learn about detachment from the things in this world that hold us in their addictive power (May, p. 14). We learn practical dependence on God during our wilderness times of suffering and disillusionment. We forge a path homeward as we recognize the directional signposts (May, p. 164) as we walk towards our true, forever home.
It's up there. Just up the road. Just over that hill. Just around that bend.
May, G. G. (1991). Addiction and grace: Love and spirituality in the healing of addictions (Plus ed.).
New York, NY: HarperOne.
Spencer Stith