Advent Midweek 2 Malachi 4:1-6

Advent: He Comes For You

Malachi 4:1-6

            In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

            Malachi 4:1  For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says Yahweh of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch.

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord…  As we did last Sunday, we want to consider again how bad the world we live in today is.  Things are bad; no one will argue that point.  But… they’re not as bad as they could be.  Things could be worse.  Even on our worst day, we Americans still enjoy comforts and luxuries that a huge percentage of the rest of the world can only dream of.  Even at our worst, we are still better off than the vast majority of the rest of the world throughout all of history.

Things can always be worse – WAY WORSE.  Just think of the descriptions of Judgment Day you heard in the Scripture passages appointed for the Second Sunday in Advent just three days ago, two of which were repeated tonight.  Speaking through Malachi, God described Judgment Day as a day that is like a burning oven that completely incinerates sinners and turns them into ash under the foot.  That’s pretty bad!

In Luke 21, Jesus describes a world that has completely come apart at the seams; [25] “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; [26] men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”  People will be and are fainting with overwhelming fear and foreboding.  The earth itself is and has been quaking with fear and distress; and things are going to get worse.  Not even Al Gore and the prophets of climate change can imagine just how bad things will be when God returns in judgment.

And what about all those other passages that speak about a terrible day of darkness and death and fiery destruction?  Indeed, things can and will definitely get way worse; this is certainly not uplifting news, which is understandable why so many Christians also are terrified of Judgment Day.  It is understandable why so many Christians are afraid that Jesus will come back in their lifetime.  The thought of Christ’s return for so many people is a terrible threat; it is something they really hope to avoid.  All they see and hear with these words is an angry God, much like it was in the days of Martin Luther in the 16^th Century.  Too many folks can only perceive of a God who threatens them with, “Don’t make me come down there!”

The danger for us today is that we hear these Scripture passages and we, too, get caught up and rattled by the harsh words of God’s final, authoritative, and deadly response to sin and evil and rebellious unbelief.  But when we do that, we wind up missing His Gospel comfort for us.  In Malachi, the righteous ones – that is, those who have been justified through faith alone in God’s grace alone – they are alive and well.  They have been brought through the tribulation.  They are not incinerated and turned to ash.  They have been saved.  In fact, they are walking victoriously in the dust and ash that remains after God has put all the evil enemies to death.

Jesus Himself tells us in Luke’s Gospel to “lift up your heads” when we see these terrifying, apocalyptic things happening, for they are signs of His coming.  Indeed, we lift up our heads because the Son of Man, the victorious Jesus Christ in the flesh, is returning in all power and glory to take us Home to be with Him.  He is coming on that Last Day to bring His bride, the Church, fully and completely to Himself in eternity where we will be eternally free from all the ravages and effects of sin.  And He is coming on that Last Day to sentence all unbelievers – from the beginning of time until He comes – to eternal damnation for their rejection of His free grace and offer of salvation.  It is just as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed: “from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”  We normally put our heads down in a posture of fear and defense.  But Jesus tells us to lift up our heads in a posture of eager expectation and victory.

Just think about what Jesus is telling us here.  He speaks of His “power” on full display.  This δύναμις, this power of God is the power of salvation to all who believe.  Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has this power, and St. Paul exhorts that we should never be ashamed of this Gospel Word of God precisely because it and it alone is “the power of salvation to all who believe” (Rom 1:16).  Jesus Christ will return again with this same power on full display.  He will return in all power and glory.

Glory: that’s a great Old Testament word.  The Hebrew word is “ca-VODH,” (כָּבוֺד) meaning “glory, splendor,” and it comes with the air of heaviness and power.  The glory of Yahweh is what Israel looked to and followed during their wilderness sojourning.  The glory of Yahweh, the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, led the Israelites throughout their time of wandering in the desert’s shadow of death.  While they travelled this glory of Yahweh would come to a stop, letting the Israelites know exactly where they were to erect the tabernacle, the holy house where Almighty God Himself “tented with” and dwelt with His people.  And when that divine glory would pick up and leave again, the people were to follow, trusting that God knew what He was doing, that He was leading them safely, and that He was working all things for their good and for their salvation.

This is why the second part of Jesus’ discourse in Luke 21 is so vital and relevant.  Jesus directs us to “look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.”   You can tell by looking at the fig tree that when you see the buds and leaves forming on the branches summer is near.  So it is with the coming of the Son of Man.  It is all part of His plan; it is all running right on schedule – His perfect schedule.

So, when you see all these things happening all around you, connect the dots, straighten up and lift up your eyes to heaven, for your salvation, your Savior, is drawing near and coming to you.  That is some great and glorious Gospel comfort and peace to your ears.

And this is why these texts are Advent texts.  Remember: Advent isn’t some liturgical warm-up act for Christmas.  Advent is not a churchly pep-rally intended to help us get into the “spirit of Christmas” and baby Jesus and all that.  Away with that thinking!  Advent is first and foremost about making repentant preparation for the coming of our Lord and Savior.

At Christ’s first Advent, He took on human flesh and blood so that He could go to the cross, having taken all of our sins into Himself, and die to save us from the eternal punishment of our sin.  That’s the reason our God and Lord took on our flesh and had that flesh nailed to a cross: for us and our sin; for our sake; for our salvation.  And remember also that this adventing wasn’t just past-tense, nor is it just a future-tense Judgment Day thing either.  It is not like Jesus came once upon a time as a baby, and will come sometime in the unforeseen future in glory on Judgment Day, and until then we are left to fend for ourselves.  NO!  He continually comes to us today!  He advents with us today, even in the midst of all the sorrows and fears and chaos and uncertainty!  And He does so very personally and bodily, in His Word and Sacraments.  Almighty God Himself continually comes in your midst, bringing to you His real self, bringing you His life and His peace that passes all understanding.

Now, we know that faith in God doesn’t magically take away all the calamities, all the sorrows, and all the sufferings of this life.  No one is immune from sin and the symptoms of sin.  God never promises you a “cross-less” life; that is, a life without fear or suffering or pain or despair.  Remember, Jesus said (Luke 9:23), “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”  We need to be reminded of this because plenty of people will offer you a different gospel; a gospel that promises easy street; a gospel that promises you a pain-free prosperity in the here-and-now.  It is a “gospel” that says, “You just gotta do this, that, and the other thing and all the goodies of life will come to you.”  But that is garbage straight out of the devil’s mouth 

Jesus said, “It is finished.”  Christ has done it all for you.  Yes, you will have sufferings and pains and sorrows.   You are a sinner living in a sinful world.  So am I.  The signs and proofs of this are all around us.  They are plain to see, and becoming plainer to see every single day.  Straighten up.  Raise your head.  Look to, flee to, and hold fast to God.  Look no further than right here, in the Divine Service, for here is where God delivers all of His goodies to you.

Look to the font where, through water and the Word, Christ gave you His forgiveness of sins, rescued you from death and the devil, and blessed you with eternal salvation.  Look to the altar from which your Lord and Savior comes to you physically with His body and blood for your forgiveness.  Look to the Word and hear from it how your Savior has paid for all your sins and promises you a bodily resurrection when you leave this world. 

In spite of your pains and sorrows and sufferings, here is Almighty God, holding out to you His mercy and grace and peace.  In the very midst of this shadowy valley of death and despair, Almighty God is right here, even as pandemic germs and fears and anxieties spread; even as wildfires rage and hurricane winds and storm-tossed seas roar; even as the earth quakes and splits and crumbles.  God is right here, even in the midst of wars and rumors of wars and corruption and sedition and mob violence in the name of “progressive wokeness.”

The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ nor will they prevail against those who are His; and neither will COVID or wildfires or hurricanes, or any other natural disaster.  The gates of hell will not prevail, so neither will a bunch of godless fools and rebels; neither will cancer nor job loss nor stock market crash nor custody battles nor anything else under the sun.  The gates of hell will not and cannot prevail against our Lord or His people.  Where Christ stands, the devil must flee.

His victory is your victory, and that victory has already been won. 

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.