Last Sunday in the Church Year
Beloved. Today we come to the end of the Church Year. And as we do so our minds are also directed to the end of all things, to the end of the world/ the Last Day/ the Final Judgment. It is absolutely vital that we be reminded of the End of all things. For one thing, it is the clear teaching of our Lord Jesus. Especially during the last week of His earthly life, He told numerous parables about the coming Judgment on the Last Day, of His return in glory. They have different depictions and emphases but ultimately the same point [Mt. 25.13]: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. The Last Day and our Lord’s coming in Judgment on it is also a central teaching in the epistles and the apostles’ preaching. And it is also a teaching that is still central today in the Church’s proclamation and in her confession of faith; for it is confessed in the three creeds of the Church.
Although people will often look on the teaching of the Last Day and Jesus’ coming in glory to judge as something scary—after all, who wants to be judged; who wants to see the end/ destruction of all things?—nevertheless, it is a very comforting doctrine. Because if there is an end, what does it imply? It implies that everything is leading towards it. There is a goal! Nothing is happening by chance or fluke. Just think how terrible it would be if everything were just random and there was no rhyme or reason to it! How senseless it would all be! It would very easily lead to despair. But if history is marching on toward an end, a goal, what does that mean? –It means there is a purpose to all the things that happen; it means, ultimately, that God’s plan for our salvation is unfolding; it means that there is nothing random but the Lord is in control of all things—even when it seems to us like He isn’t. That’s a very comforting thought. It means that we are not like a row boat bobbing up and down in the middle of Lake Michigan, completely dependent upon the waves and currents; rather we are like a huge ship plowing through the waters, that the waves crash against but cannot disrupt our course. The Lord is in control and He is guiding the course of history—both human history and our own personal history to a wonderful and glorious end for His Church and each of His dear Christians, weaving everything together in a beautiful tapestry.
There is another tremendous comfort that the Last Day and Jesus’ coming in glory as Judge gives us. And that comfort is found in our text. It concerns that age old question about the wicked/ evil/ bad people prospering while the good and godly people often suffer. The doctrine of the Last Day gives us great comfort when we are at our wits end and want to cry out: “it’s not fair!” Although we don’t see it now, as we look at the Last Day, as the Lord speaks through St. Malachi, the prophet, there we will see that in the end everything will be all right; that God is fair; that all will be set right. In other words, instead of despairing and getting all worked up, look at the scene of the Last Day as the Lord describes it in our text and take comfort: “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”
“It’s not fair!” is the cry that goes up now as the wicked people are seemingly having their way and running the show and taking advantage of it while the “nice guy”/ the Christian is suffering or at least far from prospering. In our text, the people are complaining to the Lord about the wicked prospering: And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape. It is a very odd situation: the very ones who do evil and despise the Lord seem to have His blessing—after all everything seems to be going their way. The ones who despise God and His word—the arrogant—are the very ones He seems to be blessing and are regarded as blessed by the people, at least by the ones complaining here against God: “It’s not fair!” They prosper in spite of and because of their wickedness. Not only are the arrogant, who have no use for God and His word, seen as blessed but Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape. Not only are the wicked praised with their happiness in the matters of this world—they have whatever they want—but it goes even beyond that: even though they sin greatly and horribly, they get away with it! They seem to escape God’s punishment. And again, not only do they “get away with it”, they thrive/ are seemingly blessed because of it.
But are the wicked really getting away with it? Is God really blessing them in spite of or even in their wickedness? Here we must let Holy Scripture teach us the true reality. And what does the Holy Spirit say through the apostles? Through St. Paul He says [Rm. 2.4]: Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Did you catch that? God shows kindness and patiently endures so much sin and even blesses the wicked—all in order to lead them to repent. By showering them with goodness, the Lord wants to awaken them out of their sin and lead them to repent—to see that they are rebelling against a God who loves them and wants to give them every heavenly blessing in Christ.
St. Peter sheds light on this as well. He is talking about the Last Day and the Judgment and that some say that God is seemingly slow in coming. But he writes [2 Pt 2.9]: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The whole purpose of the Lord not coming yesterday is to give the wicked/ the sinner the chance to repent today. And what is this, but nothing except His mercy toward us. Yes, the wicked seemingly prosper; yes, they are seemingly getting away with it; yes, the Lord seemingly isn’t coming on them with swift judgment/ punishment; yes, it’s seemingly “not fair.” But God’s mercy is not fair. That’s what makes mercy, mercy. If we all got what we earned and deserved, where would you and I be? –In the bowels of hell suffering untold anguish for our sin. But God was gracious and merciful toward us. He showed us His love and mercy; He sent Jesus into the world to live a holy life for us and to suffer and die for our sins; He had His word preached to us; He had His Holy Spirit create faith in Jesus in our hearts; by word and sacrament He continues to nourish that faith that receives Jesus and His work; He daily and often forgives us our sin for Jesus’ sake; He lets us hear and receive that forgiveness in the holy Absolution. That’s God’s grace upon grace toward us. That’s His mercy toward us. Thank God He’s not fair, giving us what we earn/ deserve!
Remember our text. It begins as a complaint by the people against God. Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. They, if you will, put God on trial. They judge Him and His actions according to their own thoughts/ ways and speak against the Lord. And when the Lord calls them on it, Your words have been hard against me, they resent His charge: you say, ‘How have we spoken against you? So the omniscient Lord quotes them: You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
Do you notice something else? This complaint of “it’s not fair!” is not only rooted in self-righteousness—I am so good. I deserve better. My sins, if I even have any, aren’t all that bad; just look at that guy over there—but it is also rooted in the notion that we serve God only to get something from Him. It’s a tit for tat—if I do something then somehow God owes me. It’s as if there should be some sort of earthly gain/ benefit for being a Christian. It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? For receiving in faith all of God’s graces and blessings in Jesus, for receiving the forgiveness of sin and eternal life, should we regard that as a good work God has to bless us with earthly gain? Don’t we fight against sin and sinful desires, and humble ourselves before God to show Him our love and thankfulness for His gifts to us in Jesus? Out of love and thankfulness for what God has done for us first do we serve Him. It’s not only spiritually immature, it’s the sin of self-righteousness to serve God to try to get something from Him, as if He could ever owe us anything.
When it comes to God and the things of God, may we never find ourselves judging God and saying: It’s not fair! Instead, if we feel in ourselves these thoughts may we repent for our sin of self-righteousness and for judging God according to frail human standard. God did not deal with us fairly—He doesn’t give us what we deserve; let Him deal with others “unfairly”—let God be God.
And again, let us also receive comfort by looking at the day of Judgment. There we see in the end that God works out everything right and in the utmost fairness after all. Dear Christian, these thoughts that God is being “unfair” very easily rise up in us. That’s why instead of grumbling that all goes well for the godless, we need to remind and encourage each other that on the Last Day it will all end up all right. Our text: Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. Here St. Malachi talks about a book of remembrance or what is elsewhere in Scripture called “The Book of Life” made up of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. This is a tremendous comfort to us that the Lord will not forget us. Here the prophet uses the image of writing something down so we don’t forget it. Here God has our names the names, those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name, written down so we are always before Him; so He cannot “forget” us. And the marvelous thing is that when Scripture talks about God “remembering” it means that He is working to keep His promise to protect and save us.
And what does God say of His dear Christian on the Last Day? They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. He makes His dear Christians my treasured possession; before heaven and hell, the saints and the damned, the holy and evil angels He publicly declares and acknowledges us as His treasured possession, His own. He continues to show us grace: and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him, as He brings us soul and body into the bliss of heaven eternally.
Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. It is not in vain that we serve God. The distinction between the righteous and the wicked will be seen in the judgment. The Last Day makes it clear that the godless will be punished; and it makes it clear that God has protected His dear Christian in every trial and danger, that He has preserved and will eternally save His Christian. On the Last Day it will be clear that God has not forgotten His own in their days of poverty and affliction or that He preferred the wicked to His own dear children.
“It’s not fair!” may be the thought now but be comforted by the Last Day. It will make it clear God has dealt with us in grace and mercy and all will be “fair”. INJ