Draw Near

December 16, 2008

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

I will change and purify the lips of the peoples that they all may call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord. Zephaniah 3:9

He changed his mind and went. Matthew 21:29

Piety

For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Deuteronomy 4:7 How close can we get to you, Lord Jesus? Moses was allowed to come close to the Lord while the elders prayed at a distance. At the Last Supper, we meet John lying close to your breast. Help us to have the faith and courage to approach you, Lord so that we may benefit from your wisdom and love. We know that you remain close to the brokenhearted. Amen.

Study

What makes us change? In the eternal before and after test of Christianity, what makes us willing to change from the way we were to the way the Lord would like us to be? Consider fireplaces and free will.

Fireplaces first. Did you ever set up the logs and ignite a fire in the fireplace to warm a room. If you want to benefit from the warmth, you sit by the fire. Near the fire. Not in the back of the room. Draw near and you will change from cold to warm.

When you go to church, do you sit in the middle or the back of the church? If so, you might have a hard time benefiting from the light and heat of the Word of God. You are exposed to it like the fire in the fireplace. But if you really want to experience the warming touch of the Lord, you have to draw near to him…like when you present your gifts or walk up to receive Eucharist.

Now for free will. Considering that we enjoy the gift of free will, no one, least of all the Lord, will ever force us to change or force us to draw near. Yogi Berra had an expression: “If somebody doesn’t want to go to the ballpark, no one is going to force him not to.” It is the same thing with Jesus. “If somebody doesn’t want to be a friend of Jesus, no one is going to force him not to.” That is why we have the gift of freedom.

It is not that the Lord will not welcome the change. Of course he will. Just like the Father welcomes home the Prodigal Son as he draws near to the family estate.

Zephaniah gives us an inkling of the reason in today’s passage from the Hebrew Bible. In commenting on the psychic distance between, he says, “She hears no voice, accepts no correction; In the LORD she has not trusted, to her God she has not drawn near.” (Zephaniah 3:2)

Action

We have not drawn near. If we are distant, we can not hear any reason from the love of the Lord to change. If we are distant, we have no reason to trust the Lord whom we do not know. If we are close, God will hear us and we will hear God. So if we intend to seek change and purification, we have to get close to the fire. If we stand too far away, we will never feel the warmth and love of our God.

For thus says he who is high and exalted, living eternally, whose name is the Holy One:

On high I dwell, and in holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, to revive the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. I will not accuse forever, nor always be angry; For their spirits would faint before me, the souls that I have made. Because of their wicked avarice I was angry, and struck them, hiding myself in wrath, as they went their own rebellious way. I saw their ways, but I will heal them and lead them; I will give full comfort to them and to those who mourn for them. Isaiah 57:15-18

Is it any wonder why Jesus wept? He wept because we did not change out minds despite his healing offer.