Readings Malachi 3: 1-4; Luke 3:1-9
I attended a performance of The Messiah about ten days ago – Perth Concert Hall was packed out by well dressed people – many of whom had a meal at the Concert Hall prior to the performance and enjoyed glasses of champagne at the interval. It was the first time I had been to a performance for many years and I was greatly impressed by the orchestra, choir and conductor. We discovered almost too late that the Dean of Perth John Shepherd was giving an address about Handel and the Messiah – we heard the very last part when he said that the tone of preaching in England changed greatly after The Messiah was finally accepted – prior to that point most preaching was focused on the cross – afterwards the focus changed to the second coming of Jesus (not sure I got that completely right but I did discover that John Newton the converted slave ship captain was preaching in London about the same time as Handel’s Messiah was being applauded. Newton was very unhappy about any praise being given to Handel, especially by those who reacted very favourably to the music but whom he believed did not take Jesus as the true Messiah seriously. Too much praise for Handel and not enough for Jesus.

1. But before taking up the point being made by Newton I risk your favour by reading a story about a working man from Yorkshire who rather reluctantly went by himself to a performance of the Messiah in Huddersfield – he wanted his friend to go with him but he refused.

2. Read parts of A Different Messiah.

3. No doubt that there are some people who would find that they would be just as confused as Bill Jones, especially if the only parts of Handel’s music came to them through e.g the Hallelujah Chorus being used in an advertisement. But it is perhaps possible that many people are equally confused about the way in which parts of the OT are used by Handel and also in the NT to authenticate the Messiahship of Jesus - for the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi seem to relate particularly to the immediate situation in which the Jewish people found themselves – certainly they express the hope that God will intervene to provide new leadership, to save them from their enemies. The very famous passage of Isaiah 9 :2 6 ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called ‘Wonderful counselor, mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ is said by some scholars to refer to King Hezekiah who came to the throne of David after the death of King Ahaz. The titles are also said to refer to the functions of the King. Other scholars, while wanting to place the words in the context of the actual situation facing the Jewish people, still see it as hinting at the possibility of an eventual King who will continue the throne of David for ever. Jesus himself would have been very aware of the OT writings but as far as I could work out rarely if ever spoke of any that have been interpreted as referring to the Messiah and certainly saw his role as being very different to many of those writings. On the other hand the Gospel writers and especially Matthew could have been very keen to prove to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah predicted by the Old Testament and structured their writings accordingly. Not for one moment does that mean we should discount the words of the prophets for often they are addressing the same issues as we face even though the context is very different.

4. This comes out very sharply In respect to our reading from Malachi. He is greatly troubled by the behaviour of the people. We didn’t read Verse 5 which is very confronting for it says that the Lord will be a ‘swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, against the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord.’

Malachi calls for repentance and for a willingness to change their behavior in similar fashion to the prophet Amos, Isaiah & Jeremiah.

In a sermon preached in 1928 Dietrich B onhoeffer said this:-
‘Malachi for his part also warns his hearers about the coming judgment: ‘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’ (3:2). Like one who burns away the dross in order to refine gold, God will burn away all the evil within us. Like one who uses harsh soap to clean a garment, God will bleach out the stains that sin leaves in us. Refining gold and cleaning clothes are positive activities, but from the perspective of the gold and the clothing, the process holds the prospect of much pain. We would do well to feel some fear. In this Advent text, we are far from Bethlehem and the sweet strains of ‘Away in a Manger.’

And that call for repentance is echoed by John the Baptist who places his role in the context of Isaiah 40 – to prepare the way of the Lord.

5. This second Sunday in Advent could be, and should be perhaps for all of us, a time to repent – to make way for the remembrance of Christ’s birth by facing up to what we have done or failed to do over the past year – if you like clearing away the rubbish in our lives so that there is truly room to welcome the Christ child as the bringer of good news about the God who freely loves and freely forgives us. In our tradition we don’t go in for either public or private confession,but if we are honest there isn’t one of us that could claim that we don’t need what lies behind Malachi’s imagery of the refiners fire and the very strong fuller’s soap. Hopefully we haven’t been guilty of the sins referred to by Malachi – sorcerery, ( not sure what this means – perhaps superstition) or adultery, lying, robbing workers, injustice, rejection of refugees – but there are plenty of other ones like gossip, pride, bad temper, arrogance and at best a very incomplete commitment to the values and attitudes of Jesus in our daily lives. And what is true of us as individuals is also true of our society as a whole - what a wonderful day it would be if our politicians confessed that they are often driven by very shaky motives - power, survival, vested interests, fear and jealousy rather than a genuine concern for the well being of the nation. What an even more wonderful day it would be if the leaders gathering in Copenhagen would begin with an act of general confession about the hidden agenda behind their words and actions. Of course we have little influence over either of those situations – but we can repent of our own failings and at least provide space in our lives for the Christ to direct and mold our lives for our and the common good.