Many religious people both in the ancient world and today look to the future with dread and fear. The coming of God can only mean suffering and punishment. The prophet Malachi insisted that before that 'great and terrible day' God would send his messenger to prepare the way - to turn the minds and hearts of people back to God. The warning was clear: you should really listen to him! Jewish tradition identified this messenger as Elijah, who would appear to Israel before the end times to prepare the way for the Messiah. Many Jews and Christians in the first century wondered if John the Baptist was Elijah. The New Testament is not clear - in John's Gospel John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah while in the other Gospels Jesus indicated that he was. No matter - his role was still clear - he prepared the people to respond to Jesus in a positive way, and many did. But something was clearly different - there was no terror, judgment, or violence.

Jesus taught non-violence, compassion, and forgiveness and showed those qualities in his own life. We need not be afraid of God. God is not our enemy and has no interest in punishing us. We do that quite well on our own! We should be more afraid of ourselves and the selfishness, violence, and lack of love that lurks in our own hearts. Each day we will have opportunities to offer words of hope and encouragement to others and to speak of God's love for all of us.