Advent 2 2020
Malachi 4:1-6
December 6, 2020
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
When I was in college, I spent a semester studying in Northern Spain in a town called Santander. It was directly north from Madrid, right on the coast. There was a place on the beach, in fact the only place for miles and miles, where you could sit on this outcrop into the ocean and watch the sun set over the ocean and rise over the ocean without ever having to move. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see what the big deal is about sunsets. They are pretty, sure, but when the sun rises, now that is real beauty. When you start to see the darkness and coldness of night give way to the light and the heat of the sun.
During this time of the year, when the day grows shorter for us, and we eagerly anticipate our yearly celebration of Jesus’ birth, we focus on a different kind of sunrise. In the last book of the Old Testament, we hear from the Lord through the prophet Malachi (4:2) “The sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” Light is coming, the darkness is about to go away. The world was the darkest on that day in which the very Son of God had all the darkness of sin put on Him as He hung dying on the cross on Mt. Calvary, an effect of literal darkness went over the earth. But as the Son of God rose from the grave, so too the sun of righteousness is beginning its ascent. It’s interesting how in the Old Testament, a 24 hour day is described as night and then day, whereas we normally think of it as day and then night. The darkness of the fallen world is beginning to be driven away by the impending sunrise. Dusk has passed, midnight has passed, and now the dawn is coming, once the impending day comes, never again will the sun set, for the Son of God will be the light of the world forever.
And when that time comes, Malachi describes it that God’s people will be leaping like calves from the stall. I’m sure most of you have probably seen a calf that has been couped up and when it is finally let out, like all young animals, and people, jumps for joy at its freedom. This will be the reaction of those who fear the name of the LORD, those who have faith and trust in Him for their deliverance from the darkness of sin. This is the day of the LORD.
And yet while we wait for this Day to come,there does not seem to be a difference between righteousness and wickedness, because we are all stuck in this stall of the sinful world. There seems to be no righteousness left in the world. The wicked seem to proper and the good come in last. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something like “Nice guys finish last.” There’s even songs and songs about this. Malachi wrote about this a chapter earlier than our text, where people were complaining (Mal. 3:14-15), “It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements…? Certainly, the evil doers prosper and even those who challenge God escape!” Malachi was looking around and tired of seeing these things, seeing the evil prosper and the good suffer.
Behold, the day is coming, says the Lord. Before that great and awesome day, God has sent His messenger, John the Baptist who came in the power and spirit of Elijah, to prepare the way of the Lord. He called people of his day to repentance and faith in the coming Savior. What a message for us to continue to hear. As surely as the Son of God came on earth, He is coming again. The King’s return is immanent. The night of this fallen world is almost over, and the day is coming soon with its light and warmth, a day that will never again turn into the dark night of sin and suffering. A day of healing our broken relationships with one another, which John the Baptist announced as he preached of another Day of the LORD, when God Himself would come down to His people to be Immanuel, God with us – a day of healing from disease, pain, suffering, loneliness, sadness.
This is what happens on the Day of the LORD. The most significant meaning is not in reference to time, but to the quality of the Day. Israel was not so bound to time consequences as we are today. The Day of the LORD, hence, was a day in which God is clearly in charge, the defeat of evil and triumph of good. The second coming of Christ, is the Day of the LORD, an event which God comes onto the scene and rules. More important, then, than the specific date is its quality – above all else it is a day dominated by God Himself in which God bears His arms and brings victory.
Jesus says to watch yourself lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon your suddenly like a trap (Luke 21:34). When you feel living as a Christians is of no use and it’s all in vain, these words are spoken to you. You will be vindicated for Jesus’ sake, and your defense of the Christian faith will be vindicated. Malachi announces the words of the Lord, words of encouragement and a future hope, that there will be a distinction between those righteous through faith in Christ and the wicked.
And so we sang, “O Savior, rend the heaven’s wide; Come down, come down with mighty stride; Unlock the gates, the doors break down; unbar the way to heaven’s crown.” It is not just a day of light, a day where God Himself drives back the darkness of sin; but a day of righteousness, the righteousness of a crucified and risen Savior which is bestowed upon His people by His mercy and grace, bringing holy judgment, where the wicked will finally have no more power and will be trampled under the feet of those made righteous by Christ, the Son of God – the final and complete victory at the coming of the Lord over the darkness of sin, death, and the devil.
You want to wake up early and be ready to see this Sonrise, when the Son of God rises over the horizon of all creation in all His glory and majesty. This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Amen.