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The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2006
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The 2nd Sunday in Advent (C) As we heard in today’s first reading from Malachi: “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the LORD whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight – indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 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 fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.” The theme of this passage is about the necessity for us to be CLEANSED as God’s people. If we indeed are to be prepared for the Lord’s coming, we need to be cleansed from our sins. And not just a “surface cleaning” that may make things seem to be good on the outside, but a cleansing that goes down to the very depths of who and what we are. The prophet Malachi uses the image of “fullers’ soap” to describe this cleansing. I always wondered exactly what “fuller’s soap” was, so when preparing for this sermon I did some research. I found out that a fuller was a professional tradesman responsible for cleaning garments and whitening them. The process of “fulling” or cleansing clothes consisted of treading or stamping upon the garments with the feet in tubs of water. Fuller’s soap consisted of ashes from certain plants containing alkaline. The ashes were simply dissolved with the water in the tub to initiate the cleansing process. In addition, the fuller would also often employ additional substances to help in the whitening process such as urine and chalk. These additional substances were rubbed into the garments like bleach today. Needless to say, the fullers’ trade often would create some pretty offensive smells, and would also require an open space for the drying of clothes. So therefore, fullers would practice their trade outside of the city limits in a fullers’ field. People would take their clothes to a fuller when they needed a cleaning that was much more thorough than just a regular washing – or when they wanted them to be restored to “like new” condition. Perhaps a modern day example of this type of cleaning is when we get our carpets steam cleaned. To the undiscerning eye, a carpet that has been vacuumed regularly may seem to be just fine – but when it is steam cleaned it is amazing how black the recovered water will be from all the dirt that has been removed – dirt that may not be on surface of the carpet but rather deep down within it. It is this kind of cleaning that God says that we need in our lives. During this season of Advent, many people are concerned with what I call “surface cleaning”. We spend a lot of time and effort in trying to get everything “outwardly ready” to celebrate the holidays. We put up and decorate our Christmas trees, put up other holiday decorations in our homes, shop for and wrap gifts, mail Christmas cards, bake Christmas cookies and other foods, go to and/or host holiday parties – and the list and go on and on. If we try hard enough, we can make things look really wonderful and special as we try to get into the “Christmas spirit”. All of this may be well and good, but NOT if we neglect the “deep cleaning” that is needed in our lives. We need to remember that we have SIN that is deep within us that we need to be washed clean from in order to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus Christ. We need to be cleansed from these sins within – such as bitterness, covetousness, envy, prejudice, pride – and the list can go on and on. We need to be cleansed from our sins within if we are to truly be at peace with God, and truly love and be at peace with each other as God’s people. Only when we have a “fuller’s soap” type of cleaning in the depths of our hearts and souls will we be truly ready to celebrate Christmas as God wants us to. Another image that Malachi uses in today’s first reading is that of “a refiner’s fire.” Gold or silver often is found in ore that must be melted and burned away in order to finally have the pure precious metal. The only way to obtain pure gold or silver from ore is through the use of great heat – of fire! So it is with us in our lives. To purify us, to get rid of the sins that are deep within and permeating us through and through, and to get us to listen to him, God sometimes causes (or at least lets) us go through experiences that may seem to be like going through fire. These experiences may sometimes be upsetting, scary, or even painful – but God can always use them for good. Carol once told me about the image of a burning platform. If you were on an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, you almost certainly would NOT jump off of it to the water many feet below. But if the platform was ON FIRE – then you almost certainly would be willing to jump. The fire would make all the difference in your motivation. Often as we go through life we tend to ignore our sins and shortcomings that are deep within us. As long as things seem to be OK on the surface, we tend to think that we are OK through and through – and we are resistant to letting God change us. We are content to go on living as we normally do day after day, week after week, and year after year. But every so often, there may be a “fire” that causes us to look deep within ourselves as to who we are and what God wants us to be. Perhaps that fire may be a crisis of some sort in our lives – or it may simply be a thought that comes to us either from within or from without. Personally speaking, a “fire” that I faced about four and a half years ago was when I turned fifty years old. There was something about that milestone that caused me to really look at and reflect upon where I was in my life and where I was going. One of the major things that resulted from that was deciding to seek a call out in this area of the country – even though Carol and I did not know what that would lead to. Thanks be to God, it led us HERE to Pella Lutheran Church here in Sidney, Montana! Perhaps others among you can identify with this. “Fires” such as turning a certain age, or a change in a relationship, or a crisis of some sort are things that cause us to reflect upon and wrestle with fundamental issues such as: 1) what is God’s purpose for my life?; 2) what are the real needs in my life that will give me life true joy and happiness?; and 3) what needs to change in my life? These are things that we all need to focus upon and answer. Yes, “fires” in our lives help us to focus upon things – crucial things – that we normally would tend to neglect or ignore – and in that sense they “purify” us so that we can become the kind of people God wants us to be. During this season of Advent, God is calling upon us to look deep within ourselves and to focus upon how our life is with him. God does not want us to just do “surface cleaning” and preparation for Christmas – but he invites us to be cleansed and changed in the inmost depths of our being. God through the prophet Malachi says to us: “Like with fullers’ soap, be cleansed through and through. Like as with a refiner’s fire, be purified and changed.” Then our offerings, our worship, and our lives will be pleasing to the LORD. Then we shall truly be living as God’s people! May this be so for us during this Advent season and always, in Jesus’ name. Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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