Preparing the way
Commentary
The theme of this day is obvious: Preparation! At this time of the year, people are busy preparing for Christmas. There are presents to buy (and wrap), cookies to bake, cards to send, trees to decorate. In church, we must find fresh ways to pose the familiar but necessary question, "How do we keep Christ in Christmas?" The task of the preacher is to stir people's souls such that they will be as excited by the coming of Christ as they are by the coming of Christmas. The lessons discourage us from trying to do this in a legalistic way ("We should spend less time preparing for Christmas and more time preparing for Christ!"). Rather, the focus in all three lessons is on the work of preparation that God does. God is at work in us, preparing us and the world for something magnificent.
Malachi 3:1-4
The author of the book of Malachi was a prophet of the early fifth century who, unlike most prophets, was especially devoted to the Temple and its priesthood. We don't know his name. The title of the book comes from the first verse in today's lesson. In Hebrews, the word Malachi means "my messenger." Since the book is anonymous, we refer to it by topic rather than by author.
It is the work of what is sometimes called a "cultic prophet." This does not mean, however, that its author was uncritical of the cult. He was quite hard on priests who he believed had failed to keep the Lord's covenant, particularly those who had allowed corruption of worship. His criticisms are all the more telling in that they come from within the institution.
A Day of the Lord is coming, this prophet insists, and it will be a day of judgment. But -- and this is his primary theological contribution -- God will first send a messenger to prepare the way! The identity and nature of this messenger is mysterious. Will it be an angel? Elijah (4:5)? The Messiah?
It was customary in the ancient world for monarchs to send messengers ahead of them, announcing their arrival. That way, the people had a chance to get ready to greet their ruler in a manner befitting his station. A somewhat subtle point here is that God's messenger does not just announce the coming of the Lord but actually prepares the way himself. He does not just tell people to get everything in order; he takes responsibility for getting things in order. Luke seizes on this point theologically when he weds this text to an Isaiah quotation in our Gospel Lesson for today.
The role of the messenger here is described as that of a refiner. The assumption, then, is that there is something worth saving, something essentially good in God's people. This is consistent with the theological understanding of people being created in the image of God but defiled by sin. Whatever the extent of that corruption, God still sees something precious in us: gold, silver, that can be recovered.
The means of refinement, of course, is fire. The Lord's coming in judgment is paradoxically presented as good news, for that judgment will destroy only what is ungodly in us and, threatening as it seems, we shall be better for it.
The mystical (and, some would say, rather strange) words of Saint John of the Cross capture some of this imagery. "Although I suffer a dark night in mortal life, I know my agony is slight, for though I am in darkness without light, a clear heavenly life I know, for love gives power to my life. Without a place and with a place, living darkly with no ray of light, I burn myself away. Love can perform a wondrous thing which I have learned -- inside -- and all the good and bad in me. It penetrates my life, changing my soul so it can be consumed in delicious flames. Leaning only on God, without a place, and with a place, I burn myself away." Recently, these words became the lyrics of a song by the Christian rock band, Vector. The searing, or should we say scorching, guitars seem to provide a perfect vehicle for this sixteenth century monk's poetry. Go figure.
Philippians 1:3-11
It was traditional, though by no means mandatory, in the ancient world to follow the salutation of a letter with a thanksgiving. The text of our Second Lesson are the words that constitute the thanksgiving portion of Paul's letter to the Philippians. Right off the bat, he sounds the themes of joy and praise that will be the accents of the entire epistle. Why joy? Paul is perhaps in more miserable circumstances and more dire straits than he is on the occasion of any other letter. He is in prison and is facing the likely prospect of execution (1:12-26). Why is he so filled with joy? He tells us: "because of your sharing in the gospel" (v. 5). He is happy for them, certainly, but there is more.
The Philippian congregation receives Paul's most joy-filled epistle because they are probably the most problem-free of any of his addressees. His joy is testimony to the extent to which he is caught up with them. The word translated "sharing" by the NRSV in verse 5 is koinonia (fellowship, partnership, community). Paul is not just happy for them, but with them. He is part of their community even though he is apart from them and in prison. He experiences their joy, even as they experience his suffering. In short, Paul really does believe what he says about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:26 -- "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." These words may have been easy to write from Ephesus when his own situation was comparatively pleasant. But now we see that they are not just doctrine or rhetoric. He really does think this way, live this way.
The same is true with regard to thanksgiving. As we saw in the Second Lesson for Thanksgiving Day, Paul does not congratulate his congregations for doing well, but praises God for them when they do well. Again, this is not just rhetorical expression. He really believes that God is in control.
That belief surfaces here in two more ways. First, Paul has complete assurance that God will "bring to completion" the good work that God has begun. Martin Luther says in his Small Catechism that God "calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith." A corollary to giving God the credit for having brought us this far is trusting God to take us where we need to go from here.
Secondly, and most importantly for the theme of this day, Paul gives God the credit for preparing us for the parousia. This is clear in verse 6, and also in verse 10. Paul assumes that the refinement we read about in the First Lesson has already begun. What is needed now is enlightenment: knowledge and insight to help us determine what is best (vv. 9-10). In any case, the day of the Lord is no longer viewed as a threat! God is already preparing us to be pure and blameless on that day.
Luke 3:1-6
It is instructive to compare this text to its companion in Mark 1:2-4. There are two big differences and these indicate Luke's main concerns.
First, we note the elaborate introduction, with reference to numerous political rulers. Luke wants to emphasize that what he reports is of global significance. The coming of John the Baptist has significance for all people (see v. 6). This is a major theme in Luke's gospel, one that will recur throughout the year. We may already be thinking of the Christmas Eve Announcement. The birth of Jesus means "peace on earth." One implication of this emphasis is that for Luke politics and theology merge into one. The listing of political rulers (also in 2:1-2) suggests that what God is doing has political, not just spiritual, significance. Or, to put it another way, what God does affects society, not just individuals. If we were reading Luke's gospel straight through, the Magnificat (1:46-55) would still be fresh in our minds when we read the verses for today. We would then realize that all the powers named in verses 1 and 2 have one thing in common. Some of them are Romans and some of them are Jewish; some of them are secular authorities; others are religious. But they are all going to regret the advent of Christ that John is about to announce.
Secondly, Luke adds words from Isaiah 40:3-5. In doing so, Luke accents who is doing the preparing. People frequently read this text as implying that John the Baptist has come to tell people that they need to get themselves ready for the Lord to visit them. This is clearly not Luke's main intent. In Isaiah, God says, in effect, "I am going to visit my people and nothing will keep me from them." God tells the heavenly messenger (probably an angel) to do whatever is necessary to make this possible. Even in the comparable Malachi text that serves as our First Lesson, the main point was God's dedication to refining the people. In the Isaiah passage that Luke quotes, the divine role in preparation is emphasized even more strongly.
When I was a child and I heard this text read in church, I remember that the old Diana Ross song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" started running through my mind. I'm sure it was just word association ("mountains," "valleys") and had nothing to do with the interest level of what was going on in the service that morning. But remembering that now, I realize the connection is not so bizarre. In these verses from Isaiah, God's voice comes to us as that of a desperate lover: "I will come to you," God says. "Nothing will keep us apart. If mountains stand in the way, I will level them; if valleys stand between us, I will fill them up. I'll straighten all the crooked places and smooth off the rough areas. I will do whatever must be done."
The announcement is pure gospel. Whatever you do, don't turn it into law. John does not say that we need to level mountains, fill valleys, straighten out everything crooked. In words that follow this lesson, he does call people to repentance, but as is usually the case in the Bible, this imperative follows an absolute proclamation of God's unfailing devotion to us. What can separate us from God? Sins? Those can be forgiven (v. 3). Death? Or life? Or angels or rulers or things present or things to come? Anything in all creation? (Romans 8:38-39). As it turns out, every mountain can be moved and every valley filled. And all shall see the salvation of God.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Malachi 3:1-4
If we read the Old Testament in tandem with the New Testament, we sometimes have to employ a double focus. Verse 1 of our passage promises that God will send a messenger ahead to prepare the way of his coming. And that is certainly true when we look toward Christmas. God gives all sorts of preparatory signs before Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem. An angel choir announces to shepherds that the one born is the Savior of the world. A rising and leading star alerts Mesopotamian astrologists to the fact that a special king has been born. Indeed, the whole Old Testament testifies to God's centuries of working toward the birth of his Son and centuries of Israel's longing for that saving Ruler.
Then, before God begins his ministry to his people and to the world in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, he sends the messenger, John the Baptist, to prepare the way. "I baptize you with water," that prophet preaches, "but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Luke 3:16). Thus, the gospels see in the person of the Baptist the fulfillment of the first line of our Malachi text.
Then we have to employ another focus, however, when we read the rest of this Malachi passage. After God sends his messenger to prepare his way, he will suddenly appear in his temple to judge and save his people. And that will be God's final, decisive coming -- his Day of the Lord, the Scriptures call it -- when God appears to judge the earth and to set up his kingdom over all the world. At that time, evildoers will be condemned and sentenced to death, but the righteous will be saved and exalted. Therefore, asks Malachi, "Who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?" (v. 2).
Can you? Can I? If we stand before the judgment seat of Almighty God, can our lives stand up to his scrutiny -- the searching examination of the One who knows when we sit down and when we rise, and who discerns our every thought from afar (Psalm 139)? Have we always loved our God and our neighbor? Have we obeyed his commands and shown mercy to the poor and helpless and been faithful in our trust, even when we were suffering or in difficulty, or better still, even when everything was going right with us? Have we had no other gods beside the Lord? Or have we tried to be our own gods and goddesses and attempted to run our own lives, forgetful of our Creator and Redeemer?
Almighty God comes to judge the earth, proclaims Malachi along with the Psalmists (cf. Psalm 96:13; 98:9, et al.) and other prophets. And if we ask: How can that be? The New Testament replies that the judgment will take place in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Then the Day of the Lord Christ will be at hand, and the Lord of the church will be our Judge. The apostle Paul therefore prayed constantly that his churches would be found pure and blameless through faith "in the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6, 10; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:24), and Jesus repeatedly told us to "Watch!" and to be prepared, for we do not know when that hour will come (Mark 13; Matthew 24; Luke 21).
Our passage in Malachi states that God will send his messenger before the Day, and Malachi 4:5 identifies the messenger as Elijah. That encourages us to think that maybe we will have time to prepare ourselves before the last judgment. But, warns Jesus in the gospels (Matthew 11:14; 17:11-12; Mark 9:13), Elijah has already come in the person of John the Baptist. The warning has been given. The preparing messenger has been sent. Now Christ can come again at any hour -- maybe this afternoon, or tomorrow, or perhaps not for years. So the admonition simply is, "Watch!"
G. Campbell Morgan, a great preacher of the past generation, once wrote that here is the test of true faith and character. Can we gladly say, "Come, Lord Jesus. Yea, quickly come!"? Are we ready eagerly to welcome Christ and to stand before his burning love? Or would we like to put off the coming of the kingdom, with its last judgment, indefinitely?
There is a hopeful note, however, in our Malachi passage. The prophet proclaims that when God comes in judgment, he will subject us to his refiner's fire and his cleansing fullers' soap. A refiner was one who sat before his bubbling cauldron full of ore and boiled out all of the impurities, until there was left pure gold or silver. A fuller bleached out spots from cloth, using strong soap made from lye, until the cloth was pure white and free from blemishes. Is that not what our Lord does in our lives also? Refining us by the little judgments of every day -- troubling us, prodding us, sometimes pounding us, but always working to purify us, until we learn to rely totally on him and put behind our attempts to save ourselves.
We have the stereotype that God is with us only in peaceful and beautiful moments. But the Scriptures tell us otherwise. God is present and at work in our lives also when we are suffering the fires of affliction. For example, we think that God is present only in a happy marriage. The truth is that he may be most present in an unhappy marriage -- troubling, upsetting, shoving, trying to get us to turn around and to walk in his ways of forgiveness and healing.
Israel heard from Malachi that God was purifying her by the afflictions that she was suffering. So, too, God may be purifying us by the fires of his daily judgments and the cleansing lye of the troubles he brings upon us. But his aim is always that of love -- to rid us of our sin. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world," said John the Baptist of Jesus (John 1:29). Our Lord by his Spirit at work in our lives and world is taking away -- taking away the sin that will make us unable to endure the coming of the Day of the Lord. By his action as the Refiner of our lives, God in Christ is able to keep us from falling and to present us without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing (Jude 24).
Malachi 3:1-4
The author of the book of Malachi was a prophet of the early fifth century who, unlike most prophets, was especially devoted to the Temple and its priesthood. We don't know his name. The title of the book comes from the first verse in today's lesson. In Hebrews, the word Malachi means "my messenger." Since the book is anonymous, we refer to it by topic rather than by author.
It is the work of what is sometimes called a "cultic prophet." This does not mean, however, that its author was uncritical of the cult. He was quite hard on priests who he believed had failed to keep the Lord's covenant, particularly those who had allowed corruption of worship. His criticisms are all the more telling in that they come from within the institution.
A Day of the Lord is coming, this prophet insists, and it will be a day of judgment. But -- and this is his primary theological contribution -- God will first send a messenger to prepare the way! The identity and nature of this messenger is mysterious. Will it be an angel? Elijah (4:5)? The Messiah?
It was customary in the ancient world for monarchs to send messengers ahead of them, announcing their arrival. That way, the people had a chance to get ready to greet their ruler in a manner befitting his station. A somewhat subtle point here is that God's messenger does not just announce the coming of the Lord but actually prepares the way himself. He does not just tell people to get everything in order; he takes responsibility for getting things in order. Luke seizes on this point theologically when he weds this text to an Isaiah quotation in our Gospel Lesson for today.
The role of the messenger here is described as that of a refiner. The assumption, then, is that there is something worth saving, something essentially good in God's people. This is consistent with the theological understanding of people being created in the image of God but defiled by sin. Whatever the extent of that corruption, God still sees something precious in us: gold, silver, that can be recovered.
The means of refinement, of course, is fire. The Lord's coming in judgment is paradoxically presented as good news, for that judgment will destroy only what is ungodly in us and, threatening as it seems, we shall be better for it.
The mystical (and, some would say, rather strange) words of Saint John of the Cross capture some of this imagery. "Although I suffer a dark night in mortal life, I know my agony is slight, for though I am in darkness without light, a clear heavenly life I know, for love gives power to my life. Without a place and with a place, living darkly with no ray of light, I burn myself away. Love can perform a wondrous thing which I have learned -- inside -- and all the good and bad in me. It penetrates my life, changing my soul so it can be consumed in delicious flames. Leaning only on God, without a place, and with a place, I burn myself away." Recently, these words became the lyrics of a song by the Christian rock band, Vector. The searing, or should we say scorching, guitars seem to provide a perfect vehicle for this sixteenth century monk's poetry. Go figure.
Philippians 1:3-11
It was traditional, though by no means mandatory, in the ancient world to follow the salutation of a letter with a thanksgiving. The text of our Second Lesson are the words that constitute the thanksgiving portion of Paul's letter to the Philippians. Right off the bat, he sounds the themes of joy and praise that will be the accents of the entire epistle. Why joy? Paul is perhaps in more miserable circumstances and more dire straits than he is on the occasion of any other letter. He is in prison and is facing the likely prospect of execution (1:12-26). Why is he so filled with joy? He tells us: "because of your sharing in the gospel" (v. 5). He is happy for them, certainly, but there is more.
The Philippian congregation receives Paul's most joy-filled epistle because they are probably the most problem-free of any of his addressees. His joy is testimony to the extent to which he is caught up with them. The word translated "sharing" by the NRSV in verse 5 is koinonia (fellowship, partnership, community). Paul is not just happy for them, but with them. He is part of their community even though he is apart from them and in prison. He experiences their joy, even as they experience his suffering. In short, Paul really does believe what he says about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:26 -- "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." These words may have been easy to write from Ephesus when his own situation was comparatively pleasant. But now we see that they are not just doctrine or rhetoric. He really does think this way, live this way.
The same is true with regard to thanksgiving. As we saw in the Second Lesson for Thanksgiving Day, Paul does not congratulate his congregations for doing well, but praises God for them when they do well. Again, this is not just rhetorical expression. He really believes that God is in control.
That belief surfaces here in two more ways. First, Paul has complete assurance that God will "bring to completion" the good work that God has begun. Martin Luther says in his Small Catechism that God "calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith." A corollary to giving God the credit for having brought us this far is trusting God to take us where we need to go from here.
Secondly, and most importantly for the theme of this day, Paul gives God the credit for preparing us for the parousia. This is clear in verse 6, and also in verse 10. Paul assumes that the refinement we read about in the First Lesson has already begun. What is needed now is enlightenment: knowledge and insight to help us determine what is best (vv. 9-10). In any case, the day of the Lord is no longer viewed as a threat! God is already preparing us to be pure and blameless on that day.
Luke 3:1-6
It is instructive to compare this text to its companion in Mark 1:2-4. There are two big differences and these indicate Luke's main concerns.
First, we note the elaborate introduction, with reference to numerous political rulers. Luke wants to emphasize that what he reports is of global significance. The coming of John the Baptist has significance for all people (see v. 6). This is a major theme in Luke's gospel, one that will recur throughout the year. We may already be thinking of the Christmas Eve Announcement. The birth of Jesus means "peace on earth." One implication of this emphasis is that for Luke politics and theology merge into one. The listing of political rulers (also in 2:1-2) suggests that what God is doing has political, not just spiritual, significance. Or, to put it another way, what God does affects society, not just individuals. If we were reading Luke's gospel straight through, the Magnificat (1:46-55) would still be fresh in our minds when we read the verses for today. We would then realize that all the powers named in verses 1 and 2 have one thing in common. Some of them are Romans and some of them are Jewish; some of them are secular authorities; others are religious. But they are all going to regret the advent of Christ that John is about to announce.
Secondly, Luke adds words from Isaiah 40:3-5. In doing so, Luke accents who is doing the preparing. People frequently read this text as implying that John the Baptist has come to tell people that they need to get themselves ready for the Lord to visit them. This is clearly not Luke's main intent. In Isaiah, God says, in effect, "I am going to visit my people and nothing will keep me from them." God tells the heavenly messenger (probably an angel) to do whatever is necessary to make this possible. Even in the comparable Malachi text that serves as our First Lesson, the main point was God's dedication to refining the people. In the Isaiah passage that Luke quotes, the divine role in preparation is emphasized even more strongly.
When I was a child and I heard this text read in church, I remember that the old Diana Ross song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" started running through my mind. I'm sure it was just word association ("mountains," "valleys") and had nothing to do with the interest level of what was going on in the service that morning. But remembering that now, I realize the connection is not so bizarre. In these verses from Isaiah, God's voice comes to us as that of a desperate lover: "I will come to you," God says. "Nothing will keep us apart. If mountains stand in the way, I will level them; if valleys stand between us, I will fill them up. I'll straighten all the crooked places and smooth off the rough areas. I will do whatever must be done."
The announcement is pure gospel. Whatever you do, don't turn it into law. John does not say that we need to level mountains, fill valleys, straighten out everything crooked. In words that follow this lesson, he does call people to repentance, but as is usually the case in the Bible, this imperative follows an absolute proclamation of God's unfailing devotion to us. What can separate us from God? Sins? Those can be forgiven (v. 3). Death? Or life? Or angels or rulers or things present or things to come? Anything in all creation? (Romans 8:38-39). As it turns out, every mountain can be moved and every valley filled. And all shall see the salvation of God.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Malachi 3:1-4
If we read the Old Testament in tandem with the New Testament, we sometimes have to employ a double focus. Verse 1 of our passage promises that God will send a messenger ahead to prepare the way of his coming. And that is certainly true when we look toward Christmas. God gives all sorts of preparatory signs before Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem. An angel choir announces to shepherds that the one born is the Savior of the world. A rising and leading star alerts Mesopotamian astrologists to the fact that a special king has been born. Indeed, the whole Old Testament testifies to God's centuries of working toward the birth of his Son and centuries of Israel's longing for that saving Ruler.
Then, before God begins his ministry to his people and to the world in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, he sends the messenger, John the Baptist, to prepare the way. "I baptize you with water," that prophet preaches, "but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Luke 3:16). Thus, the gospels see in the person of the Baptist the fulfillment of the first line of our Malachi text.
Then we have to employ another focus, however, when we read the rest of this Malachi passage. After God sends his messenger to prepare his way, he will suddenly appear in his temple to judge and save his people. And that will be God's final, decisive coming -- his Day of the Lord, the Scriptures call it -- when God appears to judge the earth and to set up his kingdom over all the world. At that time, evildoers will be condemned and sentenced to death, but the righteous will be saved and exalted. Therefore, asks Malachi, "Who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?" (v. 2).
Can you? Can I? If we stand before the judgment seat of Almighty God, can our lives stand up to his scrutiny -- the searching examination of the One who knows when we sit down and when we rise, and who discerns our every thought from afar (Psalm 139)? Have we always loved our God and our neighbor? Have we obeyed his commands and shown mercy to the poor and helpless and been faithful in our trust, even when we were suffering or in difficulty, or better still, even when everything was going right with us? Have we had no other gods beside the Lord? Or have we tried to be our own gods and goddesses and attempted to run our own lives, forgetful of our Creator and Redeemer?
Almighty God comes to judge the earth, proclaims Malachi along with the Psalmists (cf. Psalm 96:13; 98:9, et al.) and other prophets. And if we ask: How can that be? The New Testament replies that the judgment will take place in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Then the Day of the Lord Christ will be at hand, and the Lord of the church will be our Judge. The apostle Paul therefore prayed constantly that his churches would be found pure and blameless through faith "in the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6, 10; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:24), and Jesus repeatedly told us to "Watch!" and to be prepared, for we do not know when that hour will come (Mark 13; Matthew 24; Luke 21).
Our passage in Malachi states that God will send his messenger before the Day, and Malachi 4:5 identifies the messenger as Elijah. That encourages us to think that maybe we will have time to prepare ourselves before the last judgment. But, warns Jesus in the gospels (Matthew 11:14; 17:11-12; Mark 9:13), Elijah has already come in the person of John the Baptist. The warning has been given. The preparing messenger has been sent. Now Christ can come again at any hour -- maybe this afternoon, or tomorrow, or perhaps not for years. So the admonition simply is, "Watch!"
G. Campbell Morgan, a great preacher of the past generation, once wrote that here is the test of true faith and character. Can we gladly say, "Come, Lord Jesus. Yea, quickly come!"? Are we ready eagerly to welcome Christ and to stand before his burning love? Or would we like to put off the coming of the kingdom, with its last judgment, indefinitely?
There is a hopeful note, however, in our Malachi passage. The prophet proclaims that when God comes in judgment, he will subject us to his refiner's fire and his cleansing fullers' soap. A refiner was one who sat before his bubbling cauldron full of ore and boiled out all of the impurities, until there was left pure gold or silver. A fuller bleached out spots from cloth, using strong soap made from lye, until the cloth was pure white and free from blemishes. Is that not what our Lord does in our lives also? Refining us by the little judgments of every day -- troubling us, prodding us, sometimes pounding us, but always working to purify us, until we learn to rely totally on him and put behind our attempts to save ourselves.
We have the stereotype that God is with us only in peaceful and beautiful moments. But the Scriptures tell us otherwise. God is present and at work in our lives also when we are suffering the fires of affliction. For example, we think that God is present only in a happy marriage. The truth is that he may be most present in an unhappy marriage -- troubling, upsetting, shoving, trying to get us to turn around and to walk in his ways of forgiveness and healing.
Israel heard from Malachi that God was purifying her by the afflictions that she was suffering. So, too, God may be purifying us by the fires of his daily judgments and the cleansing lye of the troubles he brings upon us. But his aim is always that of love -- to rid us of our sin. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world," said John the Baptist of Jesus (John 1:29). Our Lord by his Spirit at work in our lives and world is taking away -- taking away the sin that will make us unable to endure the coming of the Day of the Lord. By his action as the Refiner of our lives, God in Christ is able to keep us from falling and to present us without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing (Jude 24).
