In the first reading for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we are confronted with vivid images of fire and acid as tools of purification. Malachi tells us that the Lord “is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD” (Mal 3:3).
I have always understood this reading on a surface level. Basically, I’ve grasped that we need God to help us “refine” ourselves by forgiving our sins and working within us as we journey through this life and prepare for the next. I continue to hold onto this understanding; however, two recent articles I have read shed light on both the job of a refiner and the necessity of being uncomfortable.
Megan Rawlings, in her article, “The Painful, Necessary Process of Purging our Idols,” reflects on a story she had seen “floating around the internet.” The story involved a women’s Bible study group who was studying the above passage from Malachi. Inspired by the imagery, one member of the group volunteered to learn more about the refining process and subsequently arranged to visit a silversmith.
Rawlings writes, “On the appointed day, she watched the silversmith hold a piece of silver over the fire to heat it. ‘To refine silver,’ [the smith] said, ‘one must place it in the middle of the fire when it is hottest and allow the heat to burn away all the impurities.’”
He added that heat alone will not purify the silver. As a silversmith, he explained, he must use his own skill and expertise to “monitor the silver the entire time it [is] in the fire, never taking his eyes off of it. ‘If the silver is left in the flame even a second too long, it would be impaired,’ he said. ‘If it was not in the flame long enough, impurities would remain in it.’”
The woman listened and was instantly enlightened by the fact that just as a silversmith watches over the silver in the flames, the suffering we endure in life is never without God. God will not abandon us in times of trial; likewise, God will ensure that we get the right amount of “heat” to purify our hearts, without damaging us.
In her article, “The Zone of Comfort,” Caroline Lafleur reflects on our apparent obsession with comfort as a false god. “Secular culture,” she writes, “seems to tell us that the point of life is to be as comfortable as possible, to avoid even the most minute inconvenience or irritation.” She goes on to say, “We become afraid to have difficult conversations, endure the challenges of complex relationships … or even take jobs we find somewhat unpleasant. We avoid people and situations that are uncomfortable…” Basically, we try to avoid life’s purifying fires.
Lafleur clarifies that she is not suggesting we seek out discomfort, but that we should not live in our own silos afraid to “step out of our comfort zone.” She goes on to say that “our obsession with comfort blocks us from leading fuller lives,” for while “comfort is good. It … isn’t the ultimate good.”
This brings me back to the image of the refiner’s fire. We all need to face difficult moments in life. We need to see other points of view, to admit our faults, to apologize, and to face the heat of stress and pain. Furthermore, we must remember that God, the ultimate Refiner, wants to purify our hearts and help us think outside of ourselves by avoiding the idol-god of self-fulfilling comfort.
Let us not turn away from suffering, but realize that in the fires of life, God comforts our discomfort. Like a skilled silversmith, our Refiner always has His eye on us. He holds us firmly, carefully monitoring our flames. And, most symbolically, as the silversmith replied when queried, “The silver is fully refined when I see my image in it.”
Lafleur concludes her article with the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” These are essential words to live by, as we strive to rid ourselves of the idols of false comfort, which distract us from enduring uncomfortable – ultimately necessary – situations.
May we confront life’s challenges with faith and courage, so that we may be the best, purified versions of ourselves: reflections of God’s image.
