Advent 2

Advent 2

December 8, 2024

The second Sunday of Advent has arrived. This week we continue to think about the arrival of Jesus. If you would like to read all of this week’s scriptures you can find them here: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/lectionary/advent-2c/. Our discussion this week is going to look primarily at the passages from Malachi and Luke.

Last week our Gospel reading came directly from the mouth of Jesus as he spent time talking about the kingdom of God. This week our Gospel passage is about John son of Zechariah and his role in preparing the way. He was preparing the way for Jesus directly, but he was also preparing the way for all of mankind to encounter the kingdom of God. In the passage from Luke the words of Isaiah are used to describe the mission and message of John. Luke 3:4-5 reads in part, “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;” I think this passage has a double meaning.

The first meaning is speaking of the path that Jesus the Messiah shall walk. It is speaking to the people, and the creation itself, to prepare the way for the arrival of Jesus. Make the path straight and the valleys and mountains smooth is a directive to prepare the landscape, the world, for the arrival. It speaks to things that man can have some control over, like is the street or trail clear and passable. It also speaks of things that are far outside the control of man.  Especially outside the possibility of something that man can prepare quickly.  Given enough time and energy a valley can be filled or a mountained leveled, but it could not be done immediately at the word of John, or any man. So this part of the instruction is speaking of things beyond human capability, or understanding. However, while we can not change the landscape of the world, we have control over the landscape of our hearts. Is the path to our heart smooth and open, or is it congested.  Is it filled with greed or envy or anger, or some other thing that can hinder Jesus’ approach. John is telling the people that the Messiah is coming not just to the city, but to them, personally, and they must make ready the path.

The Second meaning is not the path Jesus will walk, but the path that God himself has set out for us. From the time of Exodus the words of God have been clear. Keep to the path, not turning to the right or the left. That path he is speaking about is the path that he has created and given to us. That path leads to only one place, into deep fellowship with him. So John is not only calling out to the people to clear a path in themselve for the Savior to follow but also for them to evaluate the path they are walking. He is reminding them that God has set out a path and told them to turn not to the right or the left but to follow the path of God.

Now this path of God is not a physical thing. If it were it would have physical lefts and rights. The world we live in is full of obstructions and challenges that must be navigated. Oftentimes that navigation requires that we swerve our path in order to proceed. This is why we must understand where the physical and metaphorical meet, and where they are separate.  While the path of God is straight and true, that certainly does not mean that it is short or direct. It can be the twists and turns that we encounter that build our character and prepare for the mission that we are on. A road full of turns and challenges may be the path God has set for us, and taking the straight route could be us missing God for a time.

So why is John talking so much about the path, literal or metaphorical? Does it matter how we get there, as long as we arrive at the destination? I would say most definitely it does. Arriving at the right place with the wrong tools or without enough experience to accomplish the task before you can be just as dangerous to our journey as not arriving at all. 

Now, let us have a look at Malachi and the message he has for Israel in today's reading, chapter 3 verses 1-4. Since the passage is short I am just going to share it all from the NRSV translation.

1 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.

So while this is Malachi speaking he is giving a prophetic message from God.  Malachi is warning his hearers that the Lord is sending his messenger, and the purpose of that visit is to prepare them to be worthy to make an offering to the Lord. The messenger comes like a refiner’s fire and fullers’ soap. He has the tools required to cleanse those who receive him. 

The messenger does not come to be the sacrifice, or even to make the sacrifice. He comes to make those that receive him ready to give their own sacrifice. The passage goes on to point out that those who receive the messenger, and his refining, will be able to make an offering pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old. He is not coming to create new worshippers, but to restore the current generation to a worthy position.

And how does this cleansing take place? While the text uses stark images like a refiners fire, or a scrubbing with a fullers’ soap it does not speak about the people being either burned or scrubbed. In fact the only tool that the messenger is going to use to prepare the people is simply His message. Just as John is called to be one in the desert calling out to the people, so is the messenger that Malachi speaks about just coming with his words to prepare the way.

  

What is required to bring the people back to righteousness, to restore them to the status of former years is simply for them to hear, and respond. Be sure, hearing alone is not enough to restore the people. Neither those who listened to Malachi nor those who listened to John were transformed by the hearing. They were invited to hear and respond. That response, in the case of John, was going to him in the Jordan river and being baptist.  Not because the baptism alone was any more cleansing then the message, but because the baptism was the first step of heartfelt response. 

The passage in Luke concludes by telling us “6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.“.  The salvation of God here is the same thing that Jesus was talking about last week. To have the salvation of God is to live in God’s kingdom. Malachi and John shared a single purpose. They came to declare the coming of the messenger, whose message would have the power to cleanse them like a refiner's fire. It would have the strength to fill the valleys and level to mountains in order to make the path of God straight. To help the hearers find and walk the path of God into the kingdom of God. It was not Malachi or John’s calling to whip the hearers into shape. To hold their feet to the fire until they had their failings burned away. Their calling, our calling, is to make known the message of the Messenger. A messenger who has the great power to burn and cleanse, but who comes instead to shine the light and show the way. He brings the message that restores the holiness of the heart that hears the message.

In this second week of advent, we are reminded that Jesus comes as the great messenger. While he comes with great power and authority, he does not come to rule, but to lead and guide. He invites all to hear his voice and then choose to walk the path, not turning right or left, but directly to God. He is showing how that path is to be walked as the living example. He is preparing a way for each of us to be able to stand before the Lord and make an offering in righteousness. We have seen many times God say, He does not need our offering or our sacrifice. It was never about the thing we give God, or his need for it. It has always been about the condition of our heart and our soul as we stand before God to make the offering. Take head of the message of Christ. Walk in his example as you go about your day. Full of love and peace. Slow to anger and full of Grace. That is how we make the path within our own lives straight and smooth. That is how we return to the days of old that were pleasing to God. That is what we are reminded to do on this day, and every day.

Thanks for reading.

David