Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 Silent Night: Shepherds Quake 12 9 18

Many of us here paused on Wednesday to watch all or part of the funeral

of George H.W. Bush. It was a solemn occasion of honor and reflection. Over this
past week, I noticed how many people were taken with stories about President
Bush, and the emphasis on his kindness. It was such a basic message, and yet
from the voices of his family and friends, from news pundits and historians, this
acknowledgement of his kindness came through like a clarion call to our society as
a whole to return to that basic quality of goodness in all of us. When reflecting
about the former president, we heard and spoke basic message that we teach our
children – be kind. Share. Take turns. Wait. In this teaching, we heard a message
of hope.
In the time of the prophet Malachi, the Hebrew people were in a new and
potentially hopeful phase of their life. The exile to Babylon was over, and the
people were under one rule of Persia and were allowed to return to Jerusalem
and elsewhere in Judah. It was a time to rebuild and replant. In that time,
however, there was tension everywhere. There were people who did not leave
the country now intermingled with those who did. The political ruler of the day,
Emperor Tiberius, wanted to be considered god above no other. Some people
followed the teachings of the Levite leaders – the priests of the temple – and yet
others were drawn to apocalyptic fear mongers. A lot of mixed messages to put it
mildly!
Malachi spoke the word of God to the people because they were losing
their way. He named their confusion and called them back to Torah living. This
was not an attempt to make Judah great again. It was a call to the basics of what
they learned from Moses. Malachi assured the people that if they would only

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come back to the 10 commandments, to the teachings of the Pentateuch, they
would have the structure that they needed to live together as one people. The
basic rules would open doors to, and prepare the way for, a positive future. It was
kind of like the leaders of our time encouraging citizens to return to the teachings
of the whole Constitution and its intended purpose of stabilizing how to live
together and mutually govern the people. Malachi said that there was Hope in the
primary teaching of the Hebrew faith.
John the Baptizer’s was one of the first voices we hear in the New
Testament. Like Malachi, he preached a way to get out of the wilderness of our
own humanness. When it seems like we are wired to mess up, he offers an
invitation to leave the wilderness of an undirected life. Through repentance and
the waters of baptism, one’s life could be turned around. He said, repentance of
evil leads to grace and forgiveness. Admitting where we have gone astray
prepares us for the coming of Christ to re-form us into more loving, justice-
seeking people. For John the Baptist, there is hope in the water – the baptism of
repentance.
These two examples of prophets, Malachi and John, offer positive images of
hoping. You and I are aligned with this kind of hope. We light the candle of hope,
hope for the birth of the Christ child, and hope for the peace that comes with
faith. However, (you knew that there was a “however” coming, didn’t you?)
I mentioned last week that we are following the verses of the carol, Silent
Night this month, as a roadmap of our time of Advent preparation. As we come to
the second verse of the carol, we learn the shepherds came to see the newborn
baby; and you would think that they came in hope. But, we are reminded in this

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verse that the shepherds did not sing for joy as the angels did, the shepherds
quaked.
In this simple phrase, “shepherds quaked at the sight” we recall the
wholeness of what the coming of Christ means. It is not a solely positive message.
Our anticipation of Jesus’ story is not solely about the birth, the feeding of the
5,000 and the healings. The quaking kind of hope comes from the promise of a
refiner’s fire foretold in Malachi. A refinery uses intense heat to blast off the
elements that are caked on and around precious metals. Whether straightening
out crooked roads, bringing mountains low, or refining gold and silver, the
process of preparation for smooth sailing won’t be a party. Both Malachi and John
foresee a dramatic means of making things right.
We should quake when we hope for the coming of Christ if we think about
the prospect of being re-formed some day. Quaking, or feeling weak in the knees,
comes from joy and apprehension. There is a blend of joy and apprehension at
the prospect of this promise being fulfilled. But do we say things like, “I can’t wait!
We’ll be refined with intense fire to reveal our valuable metal – yay!”??? It’s not
likely we will welcome that happily. It makes me think of the Thanksgiving cartoon
of two turkeys talking together in a driveway where there is a large vehicle
parked. One turkey says excitedly to the other, “Oh Boy, we get to go in the
truck!” We are not particularly excited or hopeful about the coming of Christ to
scour off our corruption.
But you know, I read that when a silversmith is refining silver, she knows
that all the impurities have been burned away when she can see her reflection on
the surface of the metal. The fire of God’s refinery strips asway our imperfections
until we reflect only God’s image. We will be re-formed in God’s true image.

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 When we welcome Christ hope-fully, we are saying that we are willing to be
consumed by Christ. Enveloped in fire or water, purified or cleansed, God finds
the means to prepare the way for the coming of the One who bore God’s image in
the flesh, and who continues to dwell with us.
Amen.

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malachi 3:1-4

3See, 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. 2But 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; 3he 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. 4Then the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as
in former years.

luke 3:1-6

3In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when

Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of
Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and
Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2during the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John
son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3He went into all the region
around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of the
prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5Every valley
shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made
smooth;6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”