Coming Up Sunday, December 6

This Sunday, we will continue our Advent series on the first part of G. F. Handel's Messiah. Last week, we considered the happy prophecies of Isaiah 40 that open the work. This week, we have the more confrontational -- or even violent -- prophecies of Malachi 3 that follow.

Here are YouTube clips of this week's selections (nos. 5, 6, and 7 if you're following along in your own personal Messiah score at home). The Bass recitative, "Thus Saith the Lord":

The Bass aria, "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming,":

And the second chorus, "And He Shall Purify":

In this scripture, the prophet tells how God will help his chosen people by purifying them of their sinfulness, particularly the Jewish religious leadership ("the sons of Levi"). This is an important corollary to last week's consolation to Israel -- while they may take comfort that God is coming, they should be aware that part of God's coming will be painful and even confrontational.

This is something that we tend to forget as Christians. We always imagine a benevolent, nurturing God -- the protective "Mother Hen" who protects us and loves us unconditionally. We forget that sometimes so-called "tough love" is necessary, especially if we need to be shocked out of our delusions or addictions. I am convinced that God will use any means necessary to reach out to us and to save us from our own sinfulness. Sometimes God will nurture; sometimes God will prod.