Being purified as He is pure: Say “yes” to that refining

Turning toward Advent: Happy are They Whose Help is in the God of Jacob

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Philemon 4-20
Psalm 146
Luke 17:20-25

As I write this, we are flying headlong into Advent. During this season, the strongest verses about Jesus’ return come from his own mouth, intent on helping us answer the question, “How shall we live?”

The challenge comes directly from the Collect, which asks, if we are being made children of God and heirs of eternal life, how shall we live this out? “Having this hope, may we purify ourselves even as he is pure?”

It’s no small thing to answer that question or to live as purely as God. The good news is that God really wants to continue to change us and make us more like him. And he will create circumstances that challenge our assumptions about what we think God wants us to do, what kingdom values look like, and even who God himself is.

The Philemon reading challenges these assumptions on many fronts. Paul is returning Onesimus, the slave, to Philemon, the slave owner. Paul commends him to receive Onesimus not as human chattel, but as brother. You can almost hear the discussion. Paul says, “You know, before he came to me he was useless.” Philemon’s response would be, “No, no, no, I bought him!”

To describe Onesimus as a valued human – as a brother in Christ – strikes at the very heart of the entire slave system. The argument I heard even as a child, when racists would describe African Americans, was, “They really aren’t as human as we are.” This reasoning continued to justify a system of segregation that was accepted in much of American life until maybe 40 or 50 years ago, and has lingering, harmful effects to this day.

This passage gives us an example of how God used Paul to challenge another Christian whose firmly held value had nothing to do with the Gospel. In fact, Philemon’s position was entirely contrary to the Gospel. When we commit ourselves to live a life of being purified “as he is pure,” and to say “yes” to that refining, you can bet that God will use the Holy Spirit and other believers as channels to challenge us, especially in the places where our values don’t align with the kingdom.

Abolitionist William Wilberforce changed his heart and mind about slavery when he saw the deplorable conditions on the slave boats. He wrote that once you’ve seen, you can never act like you have not seen again. God brings moments of revelation that make such circumstances personal, some of which we’d rather not see. Ignorance and innocence may not be good excuses, but inaction after our eyes are opened is much worse.

I don’t believe God brings this type of knowledge or revelation to make us feel bad. Still, our lives are affected when we yield to God’s authority, not so that we’ll simply do the right thing, but so that we might serve him and be made more like him.

The Psalm for the day offers us some comfort on this refiner’s journey, saying, “Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help.” Jacob, the one who used deception to steal his brother Esau’s inheritance, is the one who is lifted up as the one who was blessed by God.

God knows us and knows what we need. We are not perfect or pure or even always good intentioned. Change and growth are never comfortable. God only asks that we continue saying “yes” to the process of purification, with a willingness to receive his mercy. God will carry us on the journey, working to purify us because it’s his work and he will do it.