"A Time to Prepare"

     Dear Friends in Christ,  

It seems many of us, if not all of us are in a time of preparation. Thanksgiving is finished and already far in the recesses of many of our minds. Now we find ourselves looking forward. Christmas is coming and with that date in the near future, we prepare. The lights are being put up…that is unless you’re like the city of Salem and see Veteran’s Day as the start to the Christmas season, the trees are being decorated, presents are beginning to be wrapped…that is if you’re shopping has commenced, the many, many sermons are being written if you’re Pastor, the cookies are in the oven, the songs and carols are beginning to be sung. It can be so tiring at times…at least for me…there is so much preparation that needs to be done. As the day draws ever closer and our weariness becomes more and more pronounced, often we may ask ourselves…how much more…can I endure three more weeks of this? But take heart…the 25^th will soon be here…behold, the day is coming…soon.

Until the day arrives, preparation is in order. That is what Malachi told the nation of Judah—God’s children. Here they were…finally looking forward in their lives. Not too much earlier they didn’t have anything to look forward to. Because of lives filled with sin, because of turning their back on God—even more turning towards false gods—Baal, Ashera, Marduk, etc. they were hauled into captivity, into exile, in chains and in shackles they were hauled away from their homes to Babylon, and their homeland was destroyed…the beautiful temple that they treasured so much was destroyed. But during their time in exile, Isaiah and many other prophets told them…prepare…the day is coming when you will be restored…look forward to the day that is coming when you will go back home. And sure enough, that day came and Judah returned and the temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem and once again God had a place to dwell with His people…there in the Holy of Holies the priest could come in and receive atonement…forgiveness…for the sins of the people. The land has been restored, God’s people have been restored—His mercy, forgiveness and love are there with them once again. But as so often happens with Judah…they just can’t keep a good thing going…they slip back into sin. And not only do they just slip…but they plummet. At the time of Malachi, the results of their sin are wreaking havoc on the people. Somehow, many of them had not learned how it all worked and found themselves very angry at God…angry at Him because things were not going as they thought they should…these sinful children of God would look around and see what was happening…and blame God. They cry out to him just two verses before our text today, “Why don’t you take justice here God? Look around…we, your children, are suffering here…but those who do evil are prospering. If we didn’t know better, God…it appears you favor them…you approve of their evil, while we, your children, are suffering. Where is the God of justice?”

In response to this, God says through his prophet Malachi, It is time to prepare for, “Behold, the Lord, whom you seek will suddenly come…behold He is coming”…soon. And when He comes He will draw near to judge the wicked… and the righteous…the pure…the worthy… He will draw near to Himself to receive worship and praise. But when the people hear this…that their Holy and Just God…the Almighty Himself is coming…Malachi tells us they cannot endure it, they couldn’t possibly even begin to prepare. Why? The prophet has made clear in the first two chapters of his book that among God’s children…all of them…even the priests…there are no fit worshipers to be found. The priests have been offering up defiled food for sacrifices, they were disdaining their priestly service, they disregarded the holiness of the table of the Lord, they taught falsely and they corrupted the covenant of God. The people themselves have been flirting…again…with idolatry…they are bringing blemished animals for the sacrifice—in direct opposition to the Law of God, and now they have openly and publicly questioned His justice. God is coming soon and they cannot endure, they cannot prepare themselves for what is to come.

400 years after Malachi, the situation is nearly the same. The Promised Land is filled with God’s children, but they are as sinful as ever. Born in a manger, in the small town of Bethlehem, just as the Isaiah had prophesied and as Malachi had promised, Jesus came down from heaven to be with His people, to seal God’s covenant forever through His sacrifice on the cross. But so many of God’s children found themselves unprepared, unfit for worship of the King. They treat His house as a marketplace, they hold up God’s Law as holy, while continually breaking it willfully, they disdain not only the messenger, John the Baptist, but the Lord Jesus Himself…casting Him aside as some lunatic, calling Him out of His mind, and even continually looking for opportunities to kill Him. God is there and they cannot endure it, and now they cannot prepare themselves for what is to come.

But yet, these words remain today…God says to you and I…”Behold the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come”…soon. “Behold He is coming.” Jesus Himself expounds on this ‘suddenness’ in the Gospels, He reminds us in Matthew that the coming of the Son of Man will be like a thief in the night, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” And when He comes, what will He find? Will He find faithful worshippers of Him who are prepared? Will He find worshippers who can endure the presence of a Holy and Just God, the Almighty Himself? I think we all ought to know the answer to that…history has shown us the answer to that. Just as in Malachi’s day, just as in the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, so it is for us. You and I, on our own, are unfit to stand before the Lord, we are woefully unprepared. And the reason is simple…sin. Despite whatever excuses you may have, despite however you try to ‘spin’ the situation, you are dead in your trespasses. How many times have we found ourselves like those in the time of Malachi questioning the justice of God…wondering why it is that the enemies of God seem to prosper in this world while at times for us are not going well at all? How many times have you told yourselves that sleep, sports, a morning at home, etc. is more important than coming to God’s house and receiving the forgiveness that He offers to you here—essentially telling God, don’t worry about it…I’m prepared, I’m good to go? Well, my friends, we’re not prepared…as it stands we could never endure the holiness of God’s presence. As the prophet Amos writes, “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness and not light” (Amos 5:18). You and I are so covered in sin, so covered in the filth of every single broken commandment of God, that we’re lame…again we’re dead… God is coming soon and you cannot endure, you cannot prepare yourselves for what is to come.

Yet, how wonderful it is our Lord, in His unfathomable grace and mercy and love, Himself prepares us for His coming. As He said through His servant Malachi, “Behold I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me.” And so it is that John the Baptist comes before the people reminding them—and us--just how unprepared they are when they ask what they are to do, he proclaims to them and to us—a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He reminds them, that he baptizes them with water, but that in fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, one would come who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The same goes for you and I…God has sent His messenger…your pastor…who brings you to the font and purifies you…washes you…prepares you…through the waters of Holy Baptism. Seems so simple doesn’t it? Simple tap water washing over your head…but combined with the Word of God…its so much more than that. Here at the font on the day of your Baptism and daily as you cling to the promises of your baptism, you are having your sins washed away, scrubbed off of you as with a caustic soap, you are being refined from sinner to saint as with a refiner’s fire.

God is coming again soon and you can endure, you cannot prepare yourselves for what is to come, but you have been prepared. And now when you hear the promise, “Behold, the Lord, whom you seek will suddenly come…behold He is coming”…soon, you await this coming not with fear and trembling, not with false security and hopes, but you wait with joyous anticipation in our hearts, because you can take heart that you who believe and cling to the promises of your baptisms are prepared…you are clean and pure and as a result, you will greet His coming with praise. Now, because of Christ, you can in righteousness and purity sing the beautiful hymns and carols of advent. In righteousness and purity, you will greet His coming among us in worship…each time He comes to you in His Word and in the Supper of His Body and Blood. And in righteousness and purity, fully prepared and able to endure, you will lift up your heads on the Last Day and see our King of Kings drawing near to grant you eternal salvation and to receive to worship and praise.

      Amen.