Thoughts for the Day

See I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple....but 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 fuller's soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.....But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, from New Revised Standard Version

Thoughts

Well at this point I immediately think of Handel's Messiah and the Alto who sings "But who may abide the day of His coming?" with the words "Who shall stand when He appeareth, for He is like a refiner's fire". But if you're not musical, let's look at this image that the Prophet Malachi uses. A refiner's fire is a very hot fire used to heat metal until it's molten, when the impurities can be taken off the top.

Malachi prophesies that God will send a prophet to prepare the people for the return of the Lord. This Sunday our readings are about John the Baptist and his role in preparing the way for Jesus, but we also know that Jesus promised that He would return to clean the world of its impurities.

Being a practical person I also think of sifting icing sugar or flour in the days when I didn't have a good sifter and had to do it through a sieve, and of the inevitable lumps that were left behind. I guess the question for each of us is, will we be the lumps left behind or the dross taken off the top of the metal? Advent is a time for such serious thoughts, before the celebration of Christmas!

Lord God,
this Advent may we
be honest with ourselves,
and with You;
may we look at our lives
with clarity and see
where we need to
make confession to You,
and where we need
to make changes.
Amen.