Like A Refiner’s Fire (Malachi 3:2)

 


Friday, November 29, 2024


Psalm 69:1-16

Malachi 2:17-3:12

Revelation 13:1-10


Observance: Ember Day


Like A Refiner’s Fire (Malachi 3:2)


As we get ever closer to Christmas, it is difficult to leave the house without having be-tinseled advertising shouting at us about our woefully under-filled Christmas gift list. The curmudgeon that I am, I cannot help but be a little grumpy on the inside, wanting to complain as loudly as possible that “it isn’t even Advent yet!” Yet for all the cheery cartoon gingerbread men and dancing children in Santa costumes, how can we read these words from Malachi and not feel like the birth of Christ is a little deeper than all that?


We begin today’s readings with some words that we know speak explicitly about John the Baptist: Saints Matthew, Mark and Luke all refer to it in their gospels. He was the messenger, and his message was to prepare the way for Jesus, the Lord we are seeking, the God of justice.


But who could endure the day of his coming? Who was able to stand when he appeared? For he was like a refiner’s fire, or a fuller’s soap. He sat as a refiner and purifier of silver, condemning hypocrites and exposing sin wherever he went.


Jesus is the God of justice; and he is also the messenger of the covenant. The blessings we enjoy from God come through him; the tithes and offerings we give back to him. And where Malachi speaks of bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse, and to see if the Lord will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that we will not have enough room for it – these prepare us for the words of Jesus, who tells us to take his yoke upon our necks, for his burden is easy and light.


The Day is coming, says the Lord; and a day has already come, says the Word of God. He came to not condemn, but to forgive, and bring many people to God.


As we reach the end of our study of The Sword And The Trowel, and enter Advent in order to prepare for the birth of Christ, which Christ are we preparing ourselves to see? Are we looking to the birth of the Christ of the advertisements? Or are we looking to the birth of the God of justice, who comes as a refiner’s fire, making a holy people for his own precious treasure?


Lord Jesus Christ, the Almighty: as we move from one phase of the Christian year to the next, inspire us with your Holy Spirit to see you in a way we haven’t seen you before. Make us to see you as you truly are, as your Holy Scripture describes, and how Holy Spirit affirms.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Lord Was Moved (2 Chronicles 33:13)

Image
  Wednesday, August 28, 2024 Psalms 143; 146 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 Romans 15:14-21 Observance: Augustine of Hippo, bishop and teacher (d. 430) The Lord Was Moved (2 Chronicles 33:13) In our passage from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, the apostle is making a small break in his preaching to tell his audience that he is not telling them anything they do not already know. This is perfectly understandable if we recognise that this letter is a sort of fundraising appeal for his missionary work: the apostle wants to get on and start planting the gospel in places where Christ is not known, and so he gives the church in Rome a run-down on what his theology is, so that they will feel comfortable in supporting him financially. The fact that we have this fundraising appeal as part of inspired scripture can teach us something important: God wants us to keep being reminded of certain eternal truths. Reading through the story of King Manasseh can feel a bit same...
Read more

I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God.

  Friday, September 8, 2023 Psalms 20; 21 1 Kings 5 Acts 25:13-27 Observance: Birth of Mary, Mother of the Lord I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God. How big do you dream? Try this experiment on yourself: next time you are walking down the street, observe where your eye level sits. Do you watch your feet move around the cracks in the footpath? Do you do that trick where you stare blankly into the middle distance, so as to avoid making eye contact with passers-by? How do you think that relates to your spiritual aims, and the requests you make of God? Solomon dreamt big. He knew perfectly well that the God of his nation was also the God of the entire universe. No house would be entirely suitable, nor appropriate. But by golly he was going to give it a red-hot go. And just look at how much work he put into it: an entire nation of people were hired to provide the best timber on the planet. His own nation too was put to work, either a...
Read more

Marvellous? (Zechariah 8:6)

Image
  Wednesday, October 16, 2024 Psalm 105:1-22 Zechariah 7:1-8:8 1 Peter 1:18-2:3 Observance: Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, bishops and martyrs (d. 1555) Marvellous? (Zechariah 8:6) There are several phrases that, when we see them in the Bible, should make us sit up and pay attention. Anything to do with the “Day of the Lord” is one of them; another is when God speaks about when “they shall be my people and I shall be their God”. This second phrase, which, because of its frequency, risks becoming bland to our hearts, is so tremendously deep and rich in what it speaks of, is nothing less than the gospel of Jesus Christ. We remember way back in Genesis that God would walk through the Garden of Eden in the cool of the afternoon and speak with Adam and Eve about their day. One can imagine the scene: an enchanted place, a place with no evil, our first parents probably bouncing along, joyfully telling their loving Maker about all the wonderful things the...
Read more