I am grateful for Advent when the lectionary helps us to look forward to the coming of God. The world in which we live is open to God’s future. The universe is ultimately hopeful, despite what the news says, despite the way human beings are disrespectful and abusive to the planet.
Advent themes help us by the focus on the way our forebears looked forward, longingly and hopeful to the coming of God. The lectionary passages today remind us that there was a strand of Jewish thinking that looked for the coming again of the prophet Elijah. The early Christians picked up the theme and saw in John the baptist a messenger from God who was either Elijah come again (in parts of the tradition) or one who came in the spirit of Elijah (less literally). Either way does not matter much, for the content is the same: here was one who came as messenger to prepare the way for the coming of God. Because the future is open to God, God comes to us in many ways and at many times in our lives. A message of preparation helps us to see those comings and not to miss them. To miss them is easy for the unprepared.
Today, it was the image of purity that struck a note for me. It is there in Malachi as the refining process of metal; it is there in Philippians as purity and blamelessness; it is there in the Gospel in repentance for sin and in the image of making level and straight paths to walk on.
Unhelpful views about purity
Yet, I must express diffidence about purity for I think the idea has been much misused. What might purity mean for us as we prepare for the coming of God in our lives?
I can think of four ways in which the idea of purity has been used but which is less than helpful
a) Religious purity
I am thinking here of ritualistic purity, where what we do, what we wear, the outward things of religion, seem to matter a great deal. A great deal of religious zeal is directed here to getting religion “right.” Much denominationalism is about getting the form of religion right, more pure, closer to the Bible or closer to tradition.
b) Doctrinal purity
Here the direction is to get what we think or believe correct. It seems to me a great many Christian live in fear of this. Or rather, in fear of being found holding the wrong doctrines. In my earlier years the worst thing anyone could say of me was that I was unorthodox, or, God forbid, a heretic. I tried extremely hard to have all my little doctrinal ducks in a row! I know of Christians who when they think deeply about an issue, or look closely into their own hearts, do not hold to some of the orthodox ideas (things like eternal hell as a literal palce of flames for non-Christians), but who dare not say so for fear of being doctrinally impure.
c) Sexual purity
This is a difficult area and I cannot spend much time with it. In Christian history sexual purity has often been associated with the cult of virginity. The sexual ideal has been “no sex.” The virgin is the purest Christian of all (hence enforced celibacy for priests and monastics). My view is that it has given us an inherited tradition with a very distorted view of human sexuality that has brought untold inner misery to millions of people who have grappled with interminable guilt over something that is God given and, normal and quite healthy.
d) Racial and ethnic purity
Of all the purities this is the most pernicious. We have seen in recent history what happens when groups of people seek this kind of purity. It is invariably destructive.
I say all the above are unhelpful because they all have a tendency to become exclusive and divisive. Where there is an emphasis on purity of those kinds there is also a tendency to exclude and to hurt other people who do not fit the notion of purity.
A better understanding of purity as preparation for the coming of God?
a) With regard to our selves, I think we need to make it an inner matter. It is more to do with attitudes of heart and mind than conformity to a standard of purity derived from a social and religious context. It would be to seek something like Paul’s fruit of the Spirit in Galatians. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” In other words, purity is a matter of inner disposition. It is about character.
b) With regard to others purity is not about exclusion. In the Philippians passage, Paul is a model of three things. 1) Prayer for others 2) holding others in his heart 3) compassion. Purity of the inner focused kind will bring with it these attitudes toward others that will initiate inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness; good toward others rather than harm.
+Ab. Andy