Prepare The way

In week two of Advent the scene shifts and someone else is introduced into the story.  We are still weeks away from the nativity so the new character isn’t one of the wise men (which wouldn’t make sense because they are plural), and it isn’t Mary or Joseph either.  Jesus is still an adult though he doesn’t appear in the present within the narrative for the week – rather he is spoken of by others.  The focus this week is still on the Advent of Christ, but it comes through the lens of John the Baptist.

One of the first thoughts that popped into my head as I was reading over the scriptures for this week was, “how often does anyone ever think of John the Baptist at Christmas?”  I mean seriously, I’ve never seen him depicted on any Christmas decoration or in any pageant that I can remember, and no songs are sung about him on the radio.  Yet this week he figures prominently in the narrative of the calendar.

This week the focus also begins to shift away from the second coming and moves us more into the present.  Don’t get me wrong, what we see in these passages occurred in the past (for us) and looks forward to the birth of Christ, and there is still an emphasis on what will come at the end of days, but it seems that the passages are calling us to look at our lives now as well.

Here are the passages:  Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6.  This week I’m going to hit each one individually on a different day, but in order to see the connections between them take a few minutes to read them all now.  Here is a link to the texts if you don’t have a Bible handy: Advent Week 2 Texts


Malachi

Castings by ben-the-geek: Creative Commons License

In the Malachi passage we hear the echoes of Isaiah which many recognize best from the gospel announcements of John the Baptist.  Here two things stand out to me at first glance. The first is that the Lord is coming, but before that event happens a messenger will be sent to make way for him.  The second is that when the Lord comes he will refine and purify the people.  There is a message of hope and redemption in this passage, but also a message of warning.  It will come suddenly and the question remains, “who can endure…who can stand when he appears?” 

Take a moment to read Malachi 2:17 as well.  It isn’t part of the OT lectionary passage this week but it helps locate us within the text and locates the text within our lives.  This verse speaks of those who had grown weary, or complacent even with waiting on God to arrive.  They speak openly of God approving of evil in the world and question “where is God?”  How often have we done the same?  How often have we wondered why the wicked seem blessed, and why God seems so far off?  Our OT reading speaks to those questions and doubts.

While we see John the Baptist hinted at in this passage and we recognize the prophecy of the coming of the Lord, I want us to turn our gaze inward a little as we linger over this text.  Ask yourself, do you relate to those spoken of in 2:17?  Have you been refined and purified?  If not, how might that process play out?  Will you endure?  Will you be able to stand at the Lord’s coming?  And what about this question:

Are you the messenger?

Linger over that last question before we turn to Luke.