Good Morning Friends,
Achieving a state of perfection is not attainable through our own efforts as best I can tell, it is akin to the tilling of the soil to gradually improve the possibility of productive cultivation. However, today’s lectionary scripture considers some other images of virtuous improvement in the process of metal refining and purification through sacrifice and atonement. The shocking thing is that Jesus washes our feet as a slave would. How Would You Become Clean Were It Not For The Love Of Jesus?
Scripture: 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.
Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV)
Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
Hebrews 2:14-18 (NRSV)
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke 2:22-32 (NRSV)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NRSV)
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6 (NRSV)
Message: It seems that for the past couple of months that’s what we have really been thinking about waiting. We are waiting and watching for Christmas. Waiting and watching for the College Bowl Games and New Years and then the Super Bowl. During the month of December, the season of Advent, we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. In our Gospel text this morning, we hear another story of waiting. Perhaps this text should be read on the 40th day after the birth of Jesus, still it helps set the context for the transition post Ground Hog Day and Super Bowl Sunday. According to Leviticus, a woman would be unclean after the birth of a boy for a period of 40 days. On that 40th day, she was to present herself to the Priest along with a lamb for sacrifice. The priest would then offer the sacrifice for the purification of the woman. If the woman could not afford a lamb, two doves could be substituted. That is right two turtle doves like in the song the Twelve Days of Christmas. Mary, Jesus mother, and Joseph would have waited this 40-day period before making the short trip from Bethlehem to the holy city of Jerusalem to present their firstborn son at the Temple. But there was more waiting going on at the Temple. An elderly Jew, pious and devout, sat patiently near the back of the Temple. He had become a fixture there, waiting day after day. Some thought he was strange, but he knew what he was waiting for. Imagine the shock on the face of Mary and Joseph as this old stranger approached, looking, not at them, but at the child Mary held in her arms. He gently reached for and then cradled the baby in his arms. The presence of the Holy Spirit was upon him as he looked at the face of their child. And what he had to say must have amazed them. God had opened his eyes and Simeon saw before him, not a 40-day-old child, but the Savior of the nations. Suddenly, he burst forth in song. For Simeon there is no more waiting. But there was another waiting. It was a woman named Anna. She was 84 years old, and her life was devoted to prayer and praise of God. She heard the song of Simeon and ran to see what the commotion was all about. And her eyes, too, were open by God. In the Gospel of Luke, we come across two characters who make their appearance in the final acts of the Christmas drama. One is a man named Simeon; the other is a woman named Anna. They do not appear in any nativity scenes or in many Christmas cards, but they are significant players in the first Christmas. Both individuals were waiting for something — actually, they were waiting for someone. And that brings us to some questions. So, what are we waiting for this Christmas? Are we longing for anything? Do we have a long Christmas wish list or are we expecting to receive something quite different? Are we looking forward to anything special this Christmas? In the complex context of our lives what are we anticipating? What are we hoping for, loving on, and bringing peace to? After yesterday we all may be waiting for Valentine’s Day, for the issue is about the heart. But there is a more important love than that…one that purifies us and that is the love of Christ.
And So, if you have ever watched a silver smith you might have an idea of what Malachi was writing about. It is about yielding to God and being transformed into the image of his Christ. Now this should be very aesthetically pleasing to us, but what is going on in the birth, life, death and resurrection of religious movements in the Bible and to this day, would indicate that our collective refining of what we call church passes through stages. It begins with the ethical as an instinctive moral reform and moves to the theological where we reflect on the formulation of our faith and practices and only after refining, a stage of aesthetics with the building of buildings and the apparatus of worship. Unfortunately, this last stage is likely to arrest our intellectual activities as a precursor to moral decay and the need to start the process all over again. A morally earnest faith must be continually refined until God’s glory be reflected in us. But even then, sanctification is never finished. Like the tilling of the soil for planting, the work of purifying the heart goes on, and must always be renewed with the seed of love as a bride and groom…as Jesus and the church.
Pray the revelation of Christ pierce our hearts with comfort and corrections of the Holy Spirit. Pray we realize that God has a plan for us to be transformed and will continue to work in our lives to accomplish the work of purifying us for a purpose. Pray we realize that sometimes the experience may not be all that pleasant. Pray nevertheless, we allow God to be the refiner of our souls. Pray the movement of the Spirit reveal to us what areas of our lives need correction. Pray we conform to the image of Christ as we burn away the impurities that lie within us. Pray we allow God’s image to be reflected through us. Pray we are enlightened with the true light of love always as a forerunner of the Messiah and the hope to come. Pray
like Anna that our life is complete in Christ. Pray we like Simeon claim Jesus to be the sweetest name we know. Pray we give thanks to God, speaking of Christ to all who look for redemption. Pray we bear witness that Jesus came into our lives, that he helped us to die to sin, and that the Spirit rises in us believing that Jesus will come again.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 