By Steven Norris
Last week, I wrote about the image of God as a refiner’s fire in the writings of Malachi. Following that column, the Spirit led a reader to ask how to “get rid of the dross.”
In metalworking, raw ore is smelted — heated beyond the melting point where the precious metal sinks to the bottom and impurities rise to the top as dross. The dross is cleared away and discarded, leaving the precious metal behind. Connecting this to our spiritual life, I suggested that it isn’t enough to merely identify the impurities (the Bible calls them sin). We must clear them as well.
Some dross is easy. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” John the Baptist declares. As one begins the life of faith, it is easy to recognize the dross of a sin-filled life. In such a case, “clearing the dross” looks like confessing sin, ceasing the old habits, and replacing them with new, life-giving ones.
What about me, though — a person whose initial faith commitment is more than thirty years behind me? That process is over, is it not? I am not so sure. The gift that regular contemplative practices (silence, meditation, solitude) provide to me is space to recognize the more difficult sins that tend to hide deep within the soul.
I love to pray on my front porch. When I first come out the door, the squeaking hinge often scares away any wildlife. I have found, however, that if I sit long enough…still enough…quiet enough, the birds and the squirrels begin to emerge. My prayers and songs join with a chorus that lives in my front yard.
Not too long ago, I was sitting and praying in silence when I heard some rustling in the bush behind me. Suddenly, a little bird landed on the arm of our porch swing less than a foot away from my arm. She had some dead leaves in her beak, probably for her nest. She laid them down beside me, almost as if she were presenting an offering, and flew away.
That is the gift of contemplative silence. If we are still enough…quiet enough…and stay long enough, the Holy Dove will begin to find those little dead places in our souls and gently bring them to the surface. Some sins are obvious — addictions, violence, hatred, gossip, bigotry. Other sins are subtle — favoritism, passing judgment, not doing the good that we should do, bad attitudes, jabs hidden as sarcastic humor, worry, fear. They all keep us from fully becoming the people God intended.
The process of sanctification will continue as long as we draw breath in our lungs. If we continue to draw near to the white hot fire of God’s love, we will inevitably take the next step in the journey. As the Spirit brings us one dead, sinful piece of our old self at a time, we exchange it for the abundant life Jesus has come to offer.
This Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ, let us not insulate ourselves from the purifying work God wants to do in us by indulging the busy-ness, excess food, lights, presents, and music. Let us allow the Spirit to usher us toward the manger and a purified heart.