Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV) The Coming Messenger
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 fullers’ 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. Then the
offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in
the days of old and as in former years.
Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV) The Proclamation of John the Baptist
In the
fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate
was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his
brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and
Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas
and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the
wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one
crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight. Every
valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made
low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made
smooth; and
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Are
you ready for Christmas? That is a question we hear quite often these
days, isn't it? But what do people mean when they ask if you are
ready for Christmas? Usually mean things like...
• Do you have all of your shopping done? (I haven't started)
• Have you finished wrapping all your gifts? (see question 1)
• Have you put up your Christmas tree and all the decorations? It took a while. I bought it two Sundays ago but didn't get lights or decorations on it until this past Monday when I got snowed in.
• Have you sent your Christmas cards? (not for years)
• Is your house clean and ready for visitors? (well...my visitors have come to accept a lower standard. So, that answer would be “it depends on what you mean by clean.”)
Are
you ready for Christmas? There is another question that is much more
important. "Are you ready for Christ?" In our gospel
lesson, we hear the voice of John the Baptist crying out to the
people, "Prepare the way...make the crooked roads straight and
the rough places smooth." Did John the Baptist really want the
people to work on the roads? No, John wanted the people to get ready
for the coming of the Messiah. Because the people needed to get their
hearts right and return to God. You see, no matter how good people
may think they are, there are always some crooked ways and rough
places in their lives. Things such as dishonesty, selfishness, pride,
jealousy... John wanted the people to make those crooked ways
straight and rough places smooth so that Jesus could come and walk
among them.
In
the scripture from Malachi we hear that the one who is coming will be
like the refiner's fire or the cleaner's soap. And the description
goes on to say that the one who is coming (the Lord who you are
seeking who has come to his temple) will sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver. So I just HAD to know more about how silver is
refined and purified!
Silver
was one of the earliest metals known to humans and has been
considered a precious metal since ancient times. Silver utensils and
ornaments have been found in tombs in Chaldea, Mesopotamia, Egypt,
China, Persia and Greece. Modern silver processing is often chemical
or electrolytic but the process in biblical times was a bit more
crude. Silver generally occurs in ore combined with other materials –
so lead sulfide ore, which was rich in silver is crushed and sifted
and then smelted – that is, heated until the molten silver can be
separated from the lead and other impurities. A blast of air over the
surface changes the lead into powdered lead oxide and that is blown
away. That is called the lead dross which is used for glazing
pottery...but the remaining silver becomes pure.
In
my research I found this story: A lady who was leading a Bible study
on Malachi visited a silversmith so that she could report to her
group on what he said about the subject. She went, and without
telling the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her
about the process of refining silver.
After
he had fully described it to her, she asked, "But Sir, must you
sit and watch while the work of refining is going on?"
"Oh,
yes madam," replied the silversmith; "I must sit with my
eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for
refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be
injured."
And
she saw the scripture with new perspective, our trials in life are
like that refining fire and God is watching over the process; His eye
is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love
are both involved as we grow. We can also take comfort that He will
not let us be tested beyond what we can endure.
Before
she left, the lady asked one final question, "When do you know
the process is complete?"
"Why,
that is quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can
see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished."
When
all the other stuff is consumed by the fire and blown away by the
refiner...the silver becomes pure and so reflective, it becomes like
a mirror. When all that other stuff in our lives is removed then we
too can reflect the true nature of the refiner.
When
you hear the word “judgment,” what comes to mind? Consequences?
Fear? Harsh? Condemnation? What about the word justice? Did you first
think of being judged or being in judgment of someone or something
else?
I've
said it before...and I'm sure that I'll say it again...we are very
lucky that we are not in charge of judging – because as humans, we
are not very good at it. And Jesus himself guarded us against it –
Matthew 7:1 is a scripture that is often quoted and seriously
mis-used because it shouldn't be separated from verse 2. Verse 1 does
indeed say, Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. And usually
when people whip that scriptural defense out – it is because they
are not wanting to be on the receiving end of a judgment. But verse 2
gives more perspective. For with the judgment you make, you will be
judged. And the measure you give will be the measure you get. Or to
quote the Common English Bible – Whatever you deal out will be
dealt to you.
Ah.
Okay...maybe that's not the measure that I'm comfortable with...
Notice
the reason Jesus warns against judgment. The danger in passing
judgment on someone is that we’ll have our own standard come back
to haunt us, like the spirit of judgments past.
When
I condemn someone’s behavior, whether it’s blatantly sinful or
just different than my own, I almost NEVER use the proper standard of
judgment. I pass judgment according to my
own strengths and
opinions. For example, take the issue of greed. Since I grew up in
such a big family, having enough was enough...I never really felt a
need for MORE. I often say that I'm a traitor to my gender because I
only own 4 pairs of shoes. Two pairs of sneakers, a pair of sandals
and my “church shoes.”
So
when I see someone who struggles with something like a shopping
addiction, I project myself onto them. I immediately assume that they
are sinning, they lack self-control, and that all they need is a bit
more discipline.
This
is complete sinful nonsense.
When
God evaluates that person, he takes into account everything
about
that person – their biology, sinful tendencies, weaknesses, family
history, current struggles, and a thousand other factors. God’s
judgment is perfectly just, my judgment is terribly skewed. Without
omniscience, all my judgments are going to be off kilter.
For
all I know, the person who struggles with greed in my opinion may not
be struggling with greed at all! Perhaps the overfilled shopping cart
is not even FOR them – they could be buying for a family leaving
shelter for their first apartment since becoming homeless...they
could be providing for family, friends, or strangers. OR, they may
have been neglected as a child and use shopping as a coping
mechanism. It could be a circumstance that I have no reference point
to whatsoever. I just don't know.
But
when God judges a person, his judgment flows out of his omniscience.
He knows and understands, that’s why it’s perfect.
When I
pass judgment on a person, I’m doing so based on really, really,
really limited knowledge. So often I’m blind.
It’s
a terrifying thing to think of God judging me based on the way I
judge others. So often, my judgment lacks mercy. It lacks compassion.
And it lacks knowledge. Do I want to be judged by God and others with
the same standard? No! That would be crushing.
This
is why Jesus warns about the dangers of judging others. If we’re
not careful, we’re going to end up being judged by own crushing
standards.
We can
and should call out sin. We should stand for righteousness and
godliness. We should defend the weak and vulnerable. To seek justice.
But
there’s a massive difference between judging arrogantly and judging
with humility.
Arrogant judgment says, “What a despicable, vile,
weak person.”
Humble
judgment
says, “Apart from the redemption of Christ, I’d be joining them,
and apart from God, I would lose
my salvation.
”
Arrogant
judgment says, “I would never do something like that.”
Humble
judgment says, “Though I may not struggle like they do, I sin in
other ways.”
Arrogant
judgment says, “I’m better than them.”
Humble
judgment says, “We both need Christ.”
Jesus
said, “Judge not lest ye be judged,” as a gracious warning. If I
start playing judge, jury, and executioner to people, I’m going to
find myself on the business end of my own standard. That’s a
frightening prospect.
So we
enter a new mindset where judging is concerned – reacting with
compassion. Compassionate judgment seeks to stay faithful to
Scripture while also truly loving the person who struggles. To
identify the speck in someone else’s eye while simultaneously
trying to rip the log out of my own.
Jesus
instructed us to be slow to judge and so that our judgment would be
tempered by mercy. I love how Rosaria
Butterfield says it:
We
never know the treacherous path that others take to arrive in the pew
that we share Lord's Day after Lord's Day.
I don't know all that is leading to a person's choices...and the best
way for me to understand their choice is to be caring enough to get
to know their circumstance before I start figuring out how they
should get out of it!
We are
not called to be God's Enforcement Squad. We are called to be an
embodiment of his LOVE. He does not need us to be his bodyguards –
he'd much rather we spent time seeking justice for the oppressed,
welcoming the stranger, seeing the shape of God in every person that
we encounter. Then we start to see the similarities instead of the
differences. We seek kinship. That is a much better use of our time
than trying to decide for God who he should love and who he should
not. I'm going to trust that delicate work to the refiner because I'm
standing over here in need of refining myself.
We are
called to approach others with God's mindset – and offer mercy to
others. To default to the love part and let the dross be brushed away
by the breath of the Holy Spirit. We've got to find ways to let go of
our human tendencies of treating others with the judgment and disdain
of being better than they are – and using our God minds to see that
we are also sinners in need of grace. Then we start to see the world
around us in a different way.
An
overly simplistic example – for a short time the car I was driving
not only had a busted turn signal, after a week or so of rolling down
the window to use hand signals, the window crank came off in my hand
also. I felt bad every time I could see that my lack of turn signal
had caused another driver frustration. After it was fixed though, I
found that I was more likely to assume that someone had a broken turn
signal when they didn't use it. It wasn't that anything had really
changed...I just decided to approach the problem from a different
point of view.
But if
you apply that sort of thinking to other situations, then you will
start to see more opportunities than obstacles, more chances to love
and understand. When you see yourself in kinship with others, then
you are more aligned with the heart of God than when you waste energy
wondering why people can't just do things the way you would do it,
since that is obviously the right way?
Christmas
is intended to be a transforming event, not a lovely interlude in
business as usual. Our time of Advent in preparation for Christmas is
our means of getting ready for a new way of looking at life - a new
way of living.
Today
we lit the candle of Joy. I remember that even as a child I couldn't
understand why the pink candle was THIRD! It disturbed the linear
thinker in me. I thought it should either be first or fourth...or be
the same color as the other three...but why is Joy the third Sunday
in advent? And why is the candle pink? And when I was young and
performing the duties of the acolyte, I was admonished by very stern
ladies to be certain I lit the right one!
Now
I've come to really embrace the transition of Advent. We begin with
Hope. After waiting for so long – the world, in sin and
error...pining... still there was hope. The faithful had not given
up. They continued to wait – and to watch. It begins with that
hope...
And
then we move from hope to love. As I've mentioned before, depending
upon the faith community, sometimes Love and Peace are switched. When
looking for the graphic on the front of the bulletin I found some
with Hope, Peace, Joy and Love...some with Hope, Love, Joy and Peace.
I think it is fitting that Love and Peace are interchangeable. If
we'd just learn to Love as fully and completely as God does...Peace
would be inevitable. And when we are able to experience Peace in the
rush of our busy lives and topsy-turvy world...then it is easier to
Love.
Now
Joy...that is something altogether different! Joy is a bubbling up
and overflowing kind of emotion. Peace and Love...those are quieter
feelings. Peace and love can be passive – but Joy, that is Action!
The
word Joy is used almost two hundred times in the Bible, depending on
your translation. We are told repeatedly to be joyful, to be filled
with joy and to display our joy. Yet we, as Christians, have trouble
being joyful when life on earth can be anything but happy at times.
And so we need to remember that joy isn't just about being happy.
It’s the ripple effect that comes from trusting God and knowing
that no matter what happens to us, HE will walk through the trials
with us and take us into victory.
We can
only begin to comprehend the love that God has for us. As we grow in
our faith we’ll trust Him with our lives. And our hearts become
filled with excitement, confidence and trust, and are filled with a
feeling of happiness and contentment that is ... joy. And we can't
keep it bottled up inside us. We need to express it. Shout it out. If
we were at a football game and our team scored a goal, we wouldn’t
just sit there and think, “Hurrah!” No! We’d jump up and shout
and sing praises to them because we were so happy.
Have
you ever met someone who you knew was going through a rough time and
yet they didn’t seem to be affected? They gave the problem over to
God and trusted Him to get them through it. The joy that’s in their
heart will keep them sane and able to handle life through the bad
times. We need to find that joy for our own lives. During this season
of Advent – embrace Joy. Celebrate the fact the God so loved the
world, that he sent his son. And he's coming again. Thanks be to God!
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