Malachi
4:1-2a
1 See, the day is coming, burning like an oven,
when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes
shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither
root nor branch. 2 But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness
shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves
from the stall.
2
Thessalonians 3:6-13
6 Now we command you, beloved, in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness
and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7 For you
yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with
you, 8 and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and
labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9 This
was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example
to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone
unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living in
idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such persons we command
and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their
own living. 13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Luke
21:5-19
5 When some were speaking about the temple, how
it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6
"As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone
will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." 7 They asked him,
"Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about
to take place?" 8 And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray;
for many will come in my name and say, "I am he!' and, "The time is
near!' Do not go after them. 9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will
not follow immediately." 10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great
earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be
dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12 "But before all this
occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to
synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors
because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make
up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15 for I will give you
words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or
contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives
and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by
all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your
endurance you will gain your souls.
See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the
arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble…
· All three of our
readings today are more troubling than usual. Malachi speaks of the coming “Day
of the Lord.” Paul exhorts the members of the Thessalonian church to work
quietly and to earn their own living. Jesus tells his awestruck
disciples that the Temple in Jerusalem is to be destroyed.
· The prophet Malachi,
whose name means “messenger”, is telling a troubled nation that things will turn,
but those who fear God will experience healing and joy, leaping like calves from the
stall. Our Christmas carol, Hark!
The Herald Angel Sings, uses this image of healing and wings to tell of
Jesus’ mission to the nations. (Light and
life to all he brings /Risen with healing in his wings.)
· Paul is concerned
with a group in the local church who won’t work since “Jesus is coming soon”
and why should they be concerned with the mundane things of daily life. He call
them “idle” and “busybodies.” Now what he really
said was that they were unruly and out-of-step, like a soldier out of
formation. He councils the congregation not to feed them and to call them to a
responsible disciple’s life, working to feed themselves and working as to
spread the Gospel.
· Jesus engages his
disciples in a discourse about changes, persecutions, and signs from heaven.
He says to be prepared but not to rehearse. Family ties and all other
relationships will be tested, stretched, and often broken. One relationship
will not be fractured, and that is the relationship the believer has with
Jesus. Death may come to some, but Jesus remains the Lord and he will see his
disciples through.
· Once in a while, we
all need to be reminded that our own lives with all our concerns are not the last
word on all reality. The prophetic message of the Hebrew Bible, the community
exhortations of Paul’s epistles, and the words of Jesus about holding fast in
times of trouble are all something we need to hear.
· We don’t need to be
frightened about every loud noise, every crack of thunder, or every report of
violence. These have been going on since the beginning of human life on this
earth. We have our daily tasks to maintain and our daily relationships to carry
on, all of which we can see as gifts from God – solid Lutheran theology. The
words of the prophets, apostles, and the Gospels give us a grounding in what is
behind all we do and allows us to keep perspective in all things. Jesus remains
the Lord, even of this often-scary and troubled world. We have eyes on more than
those troubles and the everyday things.
· We act and live in
the “fear” of God as those who, as Malachi would say, revere my name… This
fear of the Lord is a good deal more
than fright; it is the awe something like we might feel when we face the ocean,
the great mountains, or the night sky full of stars. It is a feeling like fear
from the realization that things are far bigger than we are… and that can be a situation of terror.
· And that is the
reality we live in. We do our daily things and live in our relationships, all within
the presence of God. In realizing that, we take seriously what we might call
the fear of the Lord, revering the name of the Lord where “the name” means the
whole being of God.
· All these scary and
troubling images had a purpose at the time of the writing of the Gospel. Today,
they remind us that our faith might have a cost beyond the collection plate. As
disciples, we follow Jesus, even to the cross. Those words bring to mind the
reality of how the Gospel of Christ stands against so many thoughts, ideas, and
standards of any society in which Christians live. We are part of the society
around us and yet we stand somewhat separated from it. The reality of history
shows us that you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
This will give you an opportunity to testify.
· And still even in
that, we will not be alone, Jesus will be with us. … I will give you words and a
wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. …By
your endurance you will gain your souls.
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