Advent Take-aways:
Distractions!
Malachi 3:1-7b

† I.H.S. †

May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus purge us o all distractions, all impurities that would weaken and cause us to break.

• The Spots get all the attention!

In today’s reading from Malachi, there are two illustrations about cleansing and purifying, one is doing so with metals and furnaces, refining or smelting metals.  I don’t know much about that, besides what I read. The other illustration is something I am much more familiar with…

I think there is a law that governs such things, at least in my life.

It is definitely guaranteed, that if I am on the way to an important meeting, I will spill something on me that will stain the shirt I am wearing. It could be mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, the grease from a burger or burrito, or even someone bumping into me with a cup of coffee or tea…

But there will be a stain that can be seen 50-75 feet away!

Guaranteed!

Then, during whatever presentation I am doing, I can feel people staring at the spot on my shirt, they gain a laser focus, and everything I say is lost, for the stain distracts everyone…

That’s the nice thing about preaching in a robe…  😊

But that only covers the sin…err the stain

(at least that means you cant see it!)

• The distractions

That big stain on my shirt becomes an issue when it distracts people from the message, or when knowing it is, and people will think I am a slob, or a klutz, or both. Or they don’t even have to focus on it – I know its there and stain there, and thinking others are focused on it will distract me!

The same thing happens with our sin, the unrighteousness in our lives. There was once a book called the “Scarlet Letter” where the sin of one person was marked on their forehead. Sometimes sin is that clear to the world, if not marked on their forehead, then at least shared on Twitter.

And even if the world doesn’t know yet, we are panic that they might come to know our dirty dark secrets. If that is not enough to cause some anxiety, there is this,

⁵ “At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

It’s one thing for people to know what my sin is, and it is very hard to live with the hidden sins, the ones whose guilt and shame rob us of peace. But to think about God almighty testifying against us and judging us should be terrifying.

The guilt and shame for those God speaks against must be, more than we can bear. And don’t be confused, this isn’t just about those sins listed—they are just a sampling – it would include those who idolators, and those who do harm in word or deed to others, to those who engage in extra-marital intimate relationships and gossip and trying to be equal to or better than the Joneses.

This is part of the nature of Advent – looking at both our world and our lives and realizing that even we, the people of God, need to delivered from our sin.

Our sins, as in ours individually and those our our community.That is the cry of Advent, the cry of Faith, trusting in God and His nature to compassion and do what He’s already said he would.

• The Gospel

But Malachi is clear about the hope we have,

⁶ “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. ⁷ Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

God doesn’t change – he will clean the laundry of our lives, erasing the stains with the strongest cleaner ever – the blood of Jesus. He acknowledges he could have destroyed all the sinners, and would be right in doing so,

But He promises reconciliation – with a simple promise – you come back, we’re back. If that means he needs to do ur laundry or cleanses us from great.

Remember – the promise was that He purifies the gold and silver, he removes the stains, He cleanses our souls. This was the prophecy of Malachi, and the message of John we heard this morning.

It is here we find our identity, in Christ, not as broken sinners, but as healed members of His family, as those made righteous because He left His throne to come bring the glorious light on God into our darkness.

All those sins that we dread to think about, He removes, and they become no more than passing distractions that are brushed away, as God embraces us. The stains will be long forgotten, washed away with a trace remaining.

This is what we consider in Advent, as we still deal with some of the earthly consequences of them – but even there God can work, bringing His healing and reconciliation to bear. But even those are minimized as all are reconciled to Jesus, as we look forward to a day when we all see Jesus, as clearly as Mary, Joseph and the shepherds did one glorious night as angels sang.

So let us eagerly look forward to the 2^nd advent, rejoicing in what God has done, and is doing even today.

Today, as we dwell in the peace of God, which is beyond reason and understanding, but one we are treasured and kept safe in by Jesus!  AMEN!