Advent
Malachi 3:1–7b
1"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, 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 sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.1 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. 5"Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. 6"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.
I send my messenger to prepare the way before me. The messenger? John the Baptist. "he will prepare the way before me," Who is talking? The pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, the one who was coming. The Lord whom you seek. He will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, he is coming!
Advent is a time of preparation. We are preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord. The lights are turned on. The decorations are lit. The trees trimmed. The Advent candles burning. Nostalgic visions fill our imagination of that wondrous, peaceful, calm night under bright stars, with angels quietly singing Christmas carols in the distance. The animals lowing and shepherds quaking at the sight. We have special church services each week, all to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord.
But, we're not just talking about preparation for Christmas. Rather Advent is preparation for his coming on the Last Day. Christmas is the celebration of what he has already done. It's good to celebrate God's wonderful deeds on our behalf, but we don't need to prepare for anything that already took place. Well, perhaps we do a little preparation for the celebration. We have gifts to buy, guests to invite, and food to prepare. Sure, there is a lot of preparation that goes into the celebration of Christmas. But that's not what Advent is about. It's not just getting ready for a party. It's about preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ to judge the world; to decide who will live in eternity with God and who will be eternally punished. It is preparing ourselves to meet our God face to face when he comes to judge us. That kind of preparation takes on a much greater importance. Whether or not you are prepared for him to come will determine where you will spend forever. It will make the difference between heaven and hell. It is more important than celebrating a birthday. More important than celebrating a wedding. It is more important than getting a job. It is more important than life itself. After all, we are all going to die sooner or later, so even life and death isn't that big a deal. But God's verdict on the day of judgment is forever. It will have no end. You can't change the outcome. Man is appointed once to die, and after that the judgment. Are you ready?
Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ. It's not about celebrations and parties. It's about the coming of the Lord of hosts. The Lord of power and might. The Lord of order who rules in all of creation. The Lord who created all things good and beautiful. But we trashed his world and he is coming back to a world of darkness. A world where chaos rules. A world of sickness and death. This is a world where life is unfair. Where injustice and oppression do not cease. An ugly world of poverty, war, racism, and prejudice. A world of broken and twisted lives, open wounds in people's hearts. Broken relationships. All stemming out of our dark and ugly hearts. The heart of mankind. Therein lies all poverty and pride and prejudice. Fighting, quarrels, hatred, injustice—it all starts inside you.
Behold, he is coming. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? He is not coming to lie in a peaceful manger and sleep in the quiet calm of the night. No! He is coming like a refiner's fire. He is coming like fuller's soap. He is coming to turn the world upside down. He is coming in warfare to deal with sin and sinners. He is coming to confront the evil one. Not just evil as a general principle, but an actual evil being, an enemy of God, an enemy of all mankind. He is coming to shake the very foundations of this world. To bring discomfort to those who are comfortable. To scatter the proud. To bring down the mighty from their thrones and send the rich away empty. It will be a day when brave men tremble in fear, when the strong faint in weakness, when all are scattered and run for their lives.
He will come suddenly and swiftly. He will come as a thief in the night. On a day when no one expects. At an hour when most will be sleeping. He will bring quick judgment; he will be a swift witness against the adulterers, the liars, and those who oppress the weak, the widow, the orphan, the homeless, and the poor. He will draw near and bring quick judgment upon those who withhold the hired worker his wages and those who thrust aside the foreigner in prejudice and discrimination. Who can endure? Who can stand on the day he appears?
He is coming to deal with the sin that lies in your heart. He is coming to purify the sons of Levi as a refiner and purifier of silver and gold he will purify you. With fire. With soap. And who are the sons of Levi? They are you. The church. You see, the sons of Levi were the priests in the Old Testament era. But now you are the priests, a royal priesthood. The priesthood of all believers. You are the sons of Levi. So he is coming to purify you. And his purification is with fire, as a refiner refines gold and silver by putting it in the fire, so he will purify the sons of Levi with fire. That is no Christmas party.
So why do we celebrate Christmas? Wouldn't a funeral be more in order? But no, we celebrate. We celebrate because instead of us passing through the fire, Jesus passed through the fire in our place. He purified you, the Sons of Levi, by going into the refiner's fire himself. The sin and guilt of us all was placed on his shoulders. He became sin for you. He took your sin in his own flesh and went to the cross. On the cross he passed through the fire. On the cross he dealt with your sin. On the cross He purified you of your sin by descending into the fire of hell. Jesus, God himself, took your sin and was burned in the refiner's fire. The dross of your sin was burned out with fire; a fiery death in hell.
So today, for the sons of Levi, the coming of Christ is a celebration. For all others it will be a day of terror, of death, of destruction. But for the sons of Levi it is a day of liberation and deliverance. It is a day of life and joy. Then they, the sons of Levi, will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord.
He is coming! He will draw near for judgment. He will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the foreigner and who do not fear the Lord. He is coming in judgment. Are you ready?
You are ready only in Christ who passed through the refiner's fire. You were made ready in Baptism and you are ready if you remain in faith. Those who are ready keep the statutes of the Lord. They are not adulterers, they do not oppress their workers, they do not afflict the widow or the fatherless or the foreigner. They are merciful and compassionate. If they have two tunics, they share with the one who has none. If they have food, they share with the one who has none. They do not threaten anyone with false accusations or smear others reputations. They do not accuse and point fingers of blame. They do not overcharge or overtax. They are the sons of Levi who remain steadfast in the faith and who await the coming of the Lord with joy. Their love abounds more and more with knowledge and discernment. They are the ones who bear the fruits of repentance—love, mercy and compassion.
So this Advent, we make preparation; preparation for the coming of the Lord. The Lord who will judge with righteousness. The Lord who purifies the sons of Levi with a refiner's fire. The Lord who has poured himself out for you on a cross and who dived headfirst into the fires of hell on your behalf to purify you from your sin and unrighteousness. He has prepared you for his coming by purifying you himself. He dived into the refiner's fire so that you would be made pure and blameless for the day of Christ. He prepared you by baptizing you and creating faith in you. He is preparing you by filling you with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God. Amen.