Holy Wisdom
Sermon by Rev. Joelle Johns
Scripture: Proverbs 8:1-12, Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21
I have always loved this time of year.
Having grown up in a fairly traditional New England setting, it’s hard not to; it’s practically a requirement to get geeked about Christmas. The cool air, the twinkling lights, candy canes a thousand other visual and culinary delights…and if it was a really good year, we would have ourselves a white blanket of snow to seal in that festive feeling.
And as with many Christians, the pending arrival of the Christ child was a big part of this. A season of joyful anticipation, which is, after all, what Advent means…that is, “a coming” or “arrival”
My mother would put out the manger set that had once belonged to her mother. Ceramic figurines, carefully hand painted in muted tones by my Nana were placed tenderly beneath the wooden manger. There was even real hay strewn about to complete the scene.
For a few weeks of the year, every year, there was this glimpse of what Peace on Earth and Good Will toward all might look like…even if only for a fleeting moment or two.
But my memories also recall a slew of interwoven crass consumerism, tacky displays of holiday excess and an unspoken competition to see who got the best stuff for Christmas.
We sang Christmas carols; festive songs heralding the arrival of Christ and the Hope that accompanied Him. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! or Oh Come All Ye Faithful…yes! Come let us adore HIM!
We did not, however, sing Advent carols, at least not outside of church.
Advent hymns speak to the spiritual labor required of us; of preparing ourselves for the arrival of the Messiah. Not just the warm-hearted story of the day of the birth in that Bethlehem stable that launched many a television special.
But the coming of God in the flesh. The expectation and preparation.
And this can feel like the call to a lot of uncomfortable introspection.
Are we really ready to face God??
We must acknowledge that Advent and Christmas sometimes feel like two separate things rather than one as anticipation of the other.
Christmas focuses on the birth of this baby who brings promise and hope and joy and peace. It has also become awash in capitalism, commercialism, and greed.
Advent is the deep holy work of contemplating the long game where God in the flesh is born to be crucified and the glory to come in His resurrection…and the preparation that followers of Christ must consider. Alas, this too is lost in today’s culture of haste and instant gratification.
But please do not misunderstand me, there really is GOOD NEWS to speak of here.
I invite you to look to the words of the Prophet Malachi taken from the Hebrew Bible for this week’s scripture. Malachi is the last of the so called “minor prophets”. Importantly, the distinction between Major and Minor is made by the length of their writing, not in their importance and Malachi accomplished significant ideas in this short book at the end of the Old Testament.
Some theologians say the Prophets foretold the future and some say they were change agents in that they sought to bring people into a new awareness of the Holy.
Malachi, whose name in Hebrew means “my messenger” helps to transform the understanding of God from a tribal and angry God to a more universal understanding: a God of love and of justice for ALL people, a God seeking Peace for ALL people.
Listen for the word of God:
Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me; suddenly the Lord whom you are seeking will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you take delight is coming, says the Lord of heavenly forces. 2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can withstand his appearance? He is like the refiner’s fire or the cleaner’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. They will belong to the Lord, presenting a righteous offering. 4 The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in ancient days and in former years.
It is thought that Malachi may have been a priest of the Temple who was dismayed by corruption by his peers. He is calling people to the carpet, and he speaks very plainly about a time of coming judgement, of refinement, the coming of a “Messenger of the Covenant” and of the coming of the Lord. There is some great joy in these words and…
He also asks a couple of very uncomfortable questions.
“Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can withstand his appearance?”
And what of this Refiner’s fire or cleaner’s soap?
This reading from Malachi sort of feels like a bucket of cold water being thrown in the face of someone who has drifted off to sleep with Burl Ives crooning softly in the background.
On one level, we are reading those verses because the New Testament connects them to the fullness of Christ and His sacrifice.
But let’s face it, on a deeper level they are raising the question of whether we are so sure we want God to come; whether we are ready or maybe…we question if we are worthy?
Malachi says that the Lord will suddenly appear in his temple, and he tells us that the messenger of the covenant in whom we delight is coming.
This IS exciting to hear. This IS good news.
But then he asks those questions…and that feels a bit disquieting. (pause) If perchance, the verses for this week sound familiar to many, it may be because they are included in Handel’s Messiah. There is a beautiful and chilling air in the sixth part of the Messiah
“But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth?” followed by “For He is like a refiner’s fire.” The music changes its tone dramatically and then the chorus begins to repeat “And He shall purify.” That is, after all, the point of the scary fire of God: to purify, to cleanse us of our transgressions and make us the people he intended us to be.
But we aren’t usually singing THAT under our breath as we hit “Add to Cart” during Cyber Monday. Because the significance and gravity of Advent gets lost in the hustle and bustle of what we have made of Christmas.
The metaphor of the cleaner’s soap or “Fuller’s soap” depending on which version of the Bible you are reading, is fairly easy to grasp. To be washed clean with a strong soap; a soap that likely stings the eyes and burns the skin a bit. Fuller’s soap even bleaches, which does seem decidedly uncomfortable BUT it feels easy to conjure up that imagery with minimal distress. Yes, I can “clean up my act a bit” …Sure, I can be a bit nicer, a bit more forgiving during the “holidays”. I can feel that peace on earth and good will to all for a few weeks. Strong soap cleans well, but there’s not necessarily a long-lasting effect; eventually the dirt gets back under my nails around the second week of January.
But the refiner’s fire that Malachi refers to… now THAT feels a bit more ominous.
Let us ask ourselves what exactly in our life needs refining? And to that end, it is important to understand what a refiner’s fire does.
A refiner’s fire does not destroy the material like a house fire, it does not decimate or obliterate.
No; rather it takes the impurities out and leaves something beautiful behind.
A silversmith would take pieces of impure metal and place them into a very hot fire in a sturdy vessel. The silver would liquify and gradually become very shiny. All the impurities leave the metal in smoke and vapor.
It refines and distills the precious to its core essence.
Now, this is by no means a call to be perfect. We are human and that is simply not possible nor is it expected of us. But we may have some opportunities to restore a sense of peace and justice in this world by our choices and our actions…and our RE-actions.
What feels like refining fire in our lives right now?
This pandemic. Yes, it feels like some low hanging fruit to pluck for this illustration but beyond the obvious inconveniences, we are also being asked to accept that life may never be as it was prior to its arrival. Every apparent victory seems to come with a new challenge right on its heels.
If we are looking through the lens of purifying, are we being sullen and waiting in vain for what may never come or are we leaning into the heat of disappointment and mining blessings and hope.
There has been a lot of death and grief and darkness…But there has also been heroism and acts of kindness and selflessness. Perhaps we are granting the discomfort permission to contaminate us.
We can look to the inferno of injustice, particularly racial injustice, that we see happening almost daily on the news, on social media, in our courtrooms and on our streets…can the heat of that blaze help distill us to a strong core of bravery in speaking out against these inequalities?
And then there are the tribal politics of today. How do we withstand the fires of political extremism and incendiary rhetoric and become what God want us to be, a benevolent and peaceful example of His love whilst also insisting on justice? We must strive to love those outside our political and religious bubbles, even when it is really, really hard…
because nothing is cultivated in that cold space of disharmony.
No refinement happens there.
The journey of transformation that begins when we follow Jesus is not always an easy one, and sometimes this refining requires us to stand in uncomfortable places, to speak out against evil in this world, even when it feels like standing in fire.
Because THAT is refining at work. THAT is what God is asking of us.
That part that burns off into smoke and vapor is part of the “stuff” we don’t need.
… the stuff that tarnishes the finish.
Perhaps what burns off in that process leaves behind a more peaceful, purified core, and reconciliation can only happen when we let ourselves be honed…to be fully prepared for the arrival of the Lord.
And in this season of Advent, that is precisely where we should be turning our attention.
The silversmith knew the silver was pure when he could gaze into the little pool of molten silver and see he own reflection.
Perhaps the purpose of God’s refining fire is to restore us to His image.