First Reading:
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. 2But 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; 3he 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. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
Second Reading:
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, 2during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in
the wilderness. 3He went into all the region around the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins, 4as 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. 5Every 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; 6and all flesh shall see the salvation
of God.’
A messenger to prepare the way. Every year we celebrate Christmas,
every year we celebrate Advent and every year, if we follow the
lectionary, we run into John the Baptist: the one who cried out in the
wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. And Luke starts off the
story of John's ministry by letting us know that John came into a
specific situation and a specific time and place. It was the
fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate,
Herod, Phillip and Lysanias; they were rulers of regions where part of
the story took place. And Luke also knew that the story he was going
to tell dealt with religious leaders so he included them too…
Annas and Ciaphas were the religious authorities of the day. So Luke
started the story of John's ministry by listing everyone who was
supposed to be a religious or a social or a civic leader and then
immediately turned the tables on them because the next words that Luke
wrote were The word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the
wilderness.
The word of God didn't come to the people who were in
charge or who were supposed to be in charge… the emperor,
governors, priests… no the word of God came to John who was a
prophet: the voice crying out in the wilderness. He was to make the
crooked paths straight, the high places low, the low places high, and
the rough places smooth. He was to prepare the way of the Lord.
Now our Old Testament reading from Malachi also mentions a messenger who would prepare the way… the prophet says that he is like a refiner's fire and fuller's soap. Interesting metaphors… it wasn't just any fire and it wasn't just any soap. This particular fire was extremely hot, and this particular soap was extremely harsh. Neither process would be particularly pleasant, but both illustrations served the same purpose because both processes existed for purification. When we hear soap we think bubbles and warm water… but the fuller's process of purification was really more like using chemicals to burn all of the impurities out of wool from a newly sheared sheep–they took a mass of raw wool that looked and smelled like an animal and changed it into a fleece… a fleece that's white as snow… so that it could be combed and spun and made into garments. The refiner's fire had the sole purpose of purifying precious metals… apparently if you get impure silver or gold hot enough the impurities will float to the top where they can be able to be skimmed off leaving the metal more pure than it was before. The idea of being refined, being made more pure or more holy, it sounds pretty good.
We sang refiner's fire, my hearts one desire is to be holy, ready to do your will… but then we read this passage and stop for a minute or two to think about the metaphors that are being used, and really, it becomes kind of scary, especially if we put ourselves in the place of the fleece or the metal that's going to be refined. We start asking the question, what might need to be skimmed off of my daily life… and then, how hot does it have to get before I'll go there? … Malachi saw the dilemma… he knew that it wouldn't be easy. He even asked the question for us… in verse 2 he says who can endure the days of his coming?
And Even when we go back to John's metaphors The crooked ways will
be made straight and the rough ways made smooth.
That all sounds
great if it's happening in front of you on a long journey, I mean who
wouldn't want an easier road. In biblical times Kings often would
send out work crews to repair the roads so that when the king
traveled, the road would be smooth. But what if it's happening to
you, rather than in front of you… what if the crooked ways deal
with what's going on inside of you, and that's what's being made
straight… what if it's the rough ways are the places in you
that are rough, and they're what's being made smooth… You see
John was called to prepare the way before the messiah but the way of
the messiah wasn't the way of a king… it hardly had anything to
do with the roads that went from one town to the next… John was
asked to prepare the hearts and minds of people, to prepare them to
prepare us for the coming of the messiah. And so John proclaimed the
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
The idea of baptism wasn't new to the Jews who probably heard John preach… but it seems like the idea of repentance is always revolutionary, no matter how many times we hear it… Repentance calls people to examine their lives, values, priorities and to change what needs to be changed. And the call to repentance demands a response. When people heard John they could deny his claim or they could change, but hearing what he had to say, accepting it and remaining the same was simply not an option.
If we read just a few verses further we'd see that he gave concrete and specific ethical guidelines of that went along with repentance. It wasn't just a change of mind. It was also a change of heart that was accompanied by a change of behavior. To repent was a complete reorientation. Turning away from selfishness and sin and turning toward God… to live unchanged was to deny the claim but to repent was to seek God's forgiveness and to serve other people in God's name. This was the new ethic John proclaimed and this was how he was preparing the way… Repent.
Repentance is the way we are purified and refined. And in relationship to the Malachi passage, frankly, it may not be any easier for us to repent than it is for the fleece to go through the fuller's process or the precious metal to go through the refining process… But Gold can't be made into coins until it's refined. Silver can't be made into jewelry until it's refined. Wool can't be made into clothing until it's refined. And we can not be made into servants until we've tasted repentance… turning to reorient our very being toward God… and the good news is that on the other side of repentance. We don't find punishment for turning away, but rather we find forgiveness… restoration, right relationship. You see repentance makes in us space for the abiding presence of God.
There's a story of a silversmith. I don't know it's origin but I
think there's a kernel of truth in it about the way we are refined.
As the smith held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up,
he explained that to refine silver, you need to hold it in the middle
of the fire where the flames are hottest. That's the only way to get
rid of the impurities. He said it's very important to watch, to keep
an eye on the silver… someone asked How do you know that
it's fully refined?
The smith looked over, smiled and said that's
easy… It's done when I can see my reflection in it. I'm not
entirely sure if that's how it works, but I know that the image of God
does indeed reside in each of us, no matter how hidden it may seem
sometimes… and I know that allowing that image to shine through
can change the world around us… and I know that God works in
mysterious ways that we don't always understand.
John was not a leader of the people. He wasn't a ruler. He didn't have any special standing or position and yet he became the voice to prepare the way of the coming Lord in the hearts and minds of people… And so every year in Advent, we meet John along with his call to repentance and also, most importantly God's promise of forgiveness. The promise is sure and it is good news. It's not that we try and try and try again until we get it right… that'll never happen we can't get it right… but it is that we try and so God will make us right. The promise of repentance is that we will be re-formed in the image of God and all will be well. Alleluia and Amen
The foregoing sermon was given by Rev. Dan Holland at the United Parish of Bowie on the Second Sunday in Advent, December 6, 2009.
© 2009 Daniel Holland
