Second Sunday in Advent
Text: Malachi 3:1-4
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
I know the confession from the green hymnal, the LBW, by heart, which I’m sure is the case for many of you. “Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves; we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone….” It continues from there as we ask to be forgiven, renewed and led. There are advantages to that type of memorization, it helps keep the words in one’s heart and mind.
Recently, though, I’ve found that I appreciate the various confessions from a resource called “Sundays and Seasons” that we use in traditional worship. They tend to get right to the point. For example, from today, “God in our midst, we confess that we have sinned. We plead: come to us. Bring your mercy to birth in us.”
In today’s readings two prophets declare people’s need for that mercy, or as one commentator put it, they declare the spiritual bankruptcy of God’s people. In the New Testament John the Baptist declares a baptism of repentance that will bring forgiveness. In the Old Testament, Malachi announces a messenger who brings purification. Whether that messenger is John the Baptist, arriving 400+ years later, is a matter of some debate. So, instead of getting embroiled in that discussion, let’s see what Malachi has to say in his time and to us.
First, it’s important to look at what happened just before the section we read. There is a complaint from God concerning an on-going question of the Israelites, after which the prophecy, which we read, is given.
The people’s question was, “Where is the God of justice?” They asked this question repeatedly because it seemed to them that God favored the wicked while the righteous suffered. That’s a complaint for every age, but not the true source of their negativity. It was that although they had returned from exile in Babylon, and the Temple was rebuilt, as well as the city of Jerusalem, Isreal had not returned it its former glory.
Therefore, wrote commentator Stan Mast, “No longer trusting God’s justice and doubting his covenant love, these post-exilic Jews began to lose hope. Their worship degenerated into a listless perpetuation of mere form, and they no longer took the law seriously: tithes were ignored, the Sabbath was broken, intermarriage with pagans was common and the priests were corrupt.” (1)
Another way to describe the situation is this, the first recipients of Malachi’s prophecy were not asking, “Where is God?” with clenched fists or tears, but, instead, were asking, “Where is God” with a shrug of their shoulders and the tiniest smirk. Quoting commentator Meg Jenista, it’s as if they are saying, “God isn’t here. God doesn’t care what we do. What difference does it make whether we choose obedience or disobedience? Justice or injustice? Kindness or meanness?” (2)
That’s the situation to which the prophet speaks what initially sounds like good news: “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 then, the tide turns, “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 fuller’s soap….”
These are words of purification and judgement, and given the context, we can see why the original listeners needed to hear them. But they do not seem to fit on this second Sunday in Advent when the theme is peace. Yet, we too are guilty of not living out our faith and questioning God’s presence in our lives. And, the road to peace often is a challenging one. As commentator Kathryn M. Schifferdecker notes, using the bold images of the text, “Like one who burns away the dross in order to refine gold, God will burn away all evil within us. Like one who uses harsh soap to clean a garment, God will bleach out the stains that sin leaves in us. Refining gold and cleaning clothes are positive activities, but from the perspective of the gold and the clothing, the process holds the prospect of much pain. (3)
Could it be that, for us, preparing for the Lord’s coming involves not just decorating, baking, purchasing and wrapping gifts and festive celebrations, but if peace is what we are seeking, some spiritual housekeeping is in order, which involves introspection, painful admissions, repentance, and, thankfully, forgiveness.
As an example, Dr. Mickey Anders tells a story by Albert Camus titled, The Fall. In it, the main character is a man name John-Baptiste, who was a Paris lawyer, self-described defender of noble causes, supporter of widows and orphans. One evening, he heard a laugh behind him. He turned around. No one was there. It wasn’t much, but for Jean-Baptiste, it was the laughter of judgment.
That night, with the strange, from out-of-nowhere laugh at his back, self-awareness began to dawn for Jean-Baptiste. He saw that what he really wanted was not to help others but to strut the stage in front of others. He saw, in the echo of that laugh, that he was a hypocrite, a lousy actor, a fake, a fraud.
He said, “shortly after (the laughter), I discovered something. When I would leave a blind man on the sidewalk to which I had conveyed him, I used to tip my hat to him. Obviously, that tipping wasn’t intended for him, since he couldn’t see it. To whom was it addressed? To the public. After playing my part, I would take a bow.”
The haunting laugh led Jean-Baptiste to a self-examination. He concluded, “I was bursting with vanity. I, I, I is the refrain of my whole life, which could be heard in everything I said.” (4)
I don’t know about you, but I prefer that a haunting laugh not be God’s message to me. Instead, Malachi’s words can be a reminder that being prepared for whole-heartedly welcoming Jesus may involve some acknowledging where refining and cleansing are needed in my life. For me, that requires intentionality, slowing down, listening and desiring peace more than upheaval.
Remember, though, that we are helpless to refine and cleanse ourselves. That’s why God comes to us as Emmanuel, Jesus, who through the pain of dying and rising, destroys the power of evil and draws us out of death to life. So, we plead: come to us. Bring your mercy to birth in us. He is the source of Advent peace. AMEN
(1) “Commentary on Malachi 3:1-4” by Stan Mast, www.cepreaching.org
(2) “Commentary on Malachi 3:1-4” by Meg Janista, www.cepreaching.org
(3) “Second Sunday in Advent (Year C)’ by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker, www.workingpreacher.org
(4) “Who Will Prepare the Way?” by Mickey Anders, Sermon Writer, 2000