"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, 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 sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years."
- Malachi 3:1-4
The Way - Advent week 2
It was my first real experience hauling our new travel trailer. I had gotten into a spot of trouble on the way to the campsite, and the return trip had me pretty jittery. With an 8-hour trip ahead of us, my wife and kids were as nervous as I was. My in-laws were following in their motorhome, and recognized that I wasn’t exactly tearing up the tarmac.
We were approaching a mountain pass and my nerves were on edge, until a shadow blocked the sun on my side of the truck. It was my in-laws, passing us and then pulling in front. For the next two hours, they ran interference for me, changing lanes and slowing down so I could move. They paved the way for me and calmed me for long enough that we could breathe a little easier. The rest of the trip was uneventful, largely because the stress had been alleviated by their kindness. My in-laws prepared my way.
John the Baptist is widely regarded as the “way-preparer” of Jesus, preparing the ground so that when Jesus arrived, the people would be ready. So much of John’s preparatory message was a precursor to what Jesus would preach in power: the Kingdom of God is coming. Get ready! John’s message about the kingdom anticipated a time when people’s allegiance would be captured not by charismatic speech, political grandstanding, or military victory. Instead, people would pledge their loyalty to a new King who would be entirely different than any king they’d encountered before. John’s work in preparing the way related to his message, ensuring that those who would encounter Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God would not be caught off guard, but would instead hear a message of continuity and unity of purpose: this kingdom Jesus was bringing was the same kingdom john was announcing. It was a radical new way of thinking about the way we organize ourselves, treat one another, and to whom we belong.
It's nice to think that Jesus came to show us a better way to live. And while it’s true, it’s decidedly too weak a statement to describe what Jesus did. He was not coming to show a new way to live. He was coming to be this new way to live. John was preparing people to live IN Christ, not just LIKE him. He was announcing the new reality that Jesus was not drawing a good life roadmap: he was inviting people into participation in the very life of God, so that all may come to know the truly good life of Jesus. The world was not given good principles or good rules; we were given a good God who called us into new life in Jesus.
John’s message, and Jesus’s message, did not encourage us to find 3 rules for a good life or 12 steps to eternal happiness. They called us to turn away from our old way of life and enter into the life of Christ, releasing entirely any control or ownership over our own way. The call of the second week of Advent is to prepare, because the way of Jesus is here, and it’s the only way to walk.
