Malachi 4:1-2a (NRSV)
Read Malachi 4:1-2a on biblegateway.com
Chapter 4See, 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. Verse 2But 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.
Devotion
Malachi brought a litany of charges against the post-exilic people of Israel: cynical priests and leaders; blemished offerings; low regard for the covenant of marriage and readily accepted divorce; mocking and robbing the giver of all good gifts with meager offerings, not tithes; and oppressing the helpless in both subtle and obvious ways, thereby scorning justice for those most vulnerable.
These charges sound all-too-familiar in the 21st century. The Day of the Lord, a day of judgment for the arrogant and self-righteous, will consume like fire and bring down the haughty and those who disregard the covenant and the Covenant-Maker.
The Day of the Lord, for those who revere the name of the Lord, will bring a different kind of judgment - healing, renewal and rebirth. The covenant made in our lives at the baptismal font claims, names and sends us. We are called to daily renewal. It is our daily Day of the Lord!
Prayer
Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Cast us not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and uphold us with your free Spirit. Amen. (Psalm 51:10-12)