When we open our Bibles we think of 2 Maccabees as the last book of the Old Testament. But as we conclude the second week of advent, the readings remind us that the transition point is later.
For Christians, John the Baptist is the close of the Old and announces the beginning of the New. He is the overlap, the continuity, the promise of the return of Elijah fulfilled.
There is no break between Old and New Testaments. The arc of God's plan for humanity runs from the first Adam to the new Adam (Jesus) to the new heavens and new earth foreseen in the Book of Revelation. The daily task of each of us is to hug that road as tightly as possible. And when slip off the road to trust that the road is still there and God is always ready to help us find our way back.
