There is a lot of vivid imagery in the readings for Advent, and today’s are no exception. We read that the coming of the Lord will be like the refiner’s fire or the fuller’s lye -- these are striking images, and not entirely pleasant ones. On the one hand, it’s appealing: yes, Lord, refine me, purify me, make me a better person, a better Christian, a better friend, a better parent . . . But on the other hand, it’s clear from the reading that what the Lord is asking of his people will require us to change -- to turn our hearts -- and change is rarely easy or comfortable. We may want for change to come upon us as it does for Zechariah in the Gospel reading; after being struck silent in the temple, Zechariah’s mouth is suddenly opened, his tongue freed. But more often than not, change is hard and slow: it requires work, and struggle, and it isn’t easy or we would have done it a long time ago. These readings, and the whole concept of Advent, challenge us to be willing to change, and to do our part to prepare the way. But they also tell us that our redemption is near at hand, and that the light that shines in the darkness is almost upon us.