You see, most of the time during the mid morning hours while sitting in my study I have to pull the shade down in front of the window so that the bright beams from the sun do not shine directly in my eyes while I type away at the computer. The sun’s rays seem to skirt the evergreen tree outside of my window just beyond the patio and flood directly into my face. I get annoyed at times having to stand up and pull the shade down so that I can see my computer screen. The day I wrote these words that I now deliver to you, I didn’t have that problem.

I’m glad I did not have that problem. But how long would I be glad if the sun never came out from behind the clouds again? I for sure would get tired of the gloomy, cloudy days. I would get tired of the cold and all the dreariness. Even how much it gets in my eyes, makes me too hot in the summer time, or even burns my skin, I need the sun. And when it’s gone too long, I miss it.

Imagine, now, if the sun were gone for 400 years. That’s what happened to the people of God. No, the sun came up every morning and went down every evening – just like it always had and continues to do today (even on cloudy, gloomy days). The sun I’m talking about is the “sun of righteousness.” Throughout Israel’s history the Word of God remained with them through the voice of the prophets. They didn’t always like the sound of that voice because at times it accused them of their laziness, their godliness and whatever other shortcoming they had struggled with. But with God’s voice from the mouth of the prophets also came the words of comfort and joy – the words of hope and salvation. These were also God’s Words and this is exactly what the people of God needed to hear. Like the bright sun that seems to annoy me while typing away at my computer, God’s people didn’t always want to hear His Word – but they needed it none the less.

But it had been 400 years. It was 400 years since Malachi the prophet, the “second to the last” Old Testament Prophet would speak the Word of the Lord, for the sake of the People of the Lord. And it wasn’t until 400 years later that the next prophet would come along. This is the prophet that Malachi himself would speak of. Malachi says in the third chapter, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord almighty.” Also Malachi says in our text from the fourth chapter, verse five, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” Both times Malachi is speaking of the “last” great Old Testament prophet. That prophet actually appears in the New Testament. That prophet was John the Baptizer.

It had been 400 years. It was 400 years from Malachi to John. 400 years of what seemed to be silence from the Lord. God was silent, but the ensuing years were anything but silent.

Alexander the Great acquired the land of Palestine. After his death the land was divided among his generals. Egypt and Syria developed dynasties in the following years and the Greek language, culture and policies remained in tact. These were challenging times for the Jews. Different rulers would have their own levels of sensitivity when it came to religious tolerance. And when Antiochus came to power in 175 B.C. the attempt at the eradication of the Jewish religion began. He prohibited worship; he destroyed copies of the Torah and required offerings to the Greek god Zeus.

More than two thousand years later now, this past Wednesday, I was happy. I was writing my sermon, I could keep the shade up, and I had no sun shining in my eyes. You know, that’s how we sinners like to treat the Son, S-O-N, at times as well.

We don’t like to see the Son, S-O-N, when we are engaged in conspiracy – when we plot and scheme. We desire to hear “silence” from God when our ideas and plans go directly against His will. We don’t want to see the face of God – to see how disappointed He must be in us – to hear what He might have to say to the way we have acted to what we have done to what we left undone. We don’t want to see and hear God’s law when we know we are guilty. With our sins before us, we want God to be silent – much like He was for 400 years. But then there are times when we wonder why God seems to not say or do anything at all. Like when we suffer from depression or the other emotional problems that come with the stressful life we live. Or when the physical problems we have encountered persist. Why don’t we hear God? Why won’t He say anything or do anything to help? Just like the Jews were “for sure” calling upon the Lord for help when the tyranny of Antiochus dominated their lives, we call to God and wonder why He is silent at our most troublesome times.

I want you to know, beloved in the Lord, He is not silent. Malachi would tell us, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” Every day of our lives the sun, S-U-N rises in the east. Even when we can’t see it with our own eyes, it is there. Be confident, beloved in the Lord, the Son, S-O-N is there for us all the same. And just as the sun, S-U-N cannot be seen everyday, you know, even when it’s the darkest day, the sun is “for sure” there. You may not see it directly but it makes the sky brighter. And with the Son, S-O-N of our lives, everyday we can see Him at work as He sustains and keeps us today and for evermore. We are granted those blessings that go beyond this world and can be confident that we have them – even when we don’t see them clearly.

As we approach Christmas during these days of Advent, we will indeed hear more about the sun, S-U-N and the Son, S-O-N. Remember what we sing at Christmas? You will when we get there. Turn to hymn 380 in your hymnals. Look at how “Sun” is spelled for us in the third verse. Hail, the heaven born Prince of Peace! Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!

Have you ever wondered why it’s spelled, “S-U-N?” Sometimes God and His glory are compared with the sun, S-U-N in the Scriptures. Isaiah says in Chapter 60, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” And St. Luke says in chapter one, “because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” The sun, S-U-N is the Son, S-O-N in the Bible and in the hymn. His righteousness lights our way and directs our paths. His righteousness is the sun that continues to shine forth in our lives today and each day showing what we have in Christ by what He has done and given to us.

The sun, S-U-N is not gone. The S-U-N is not missing. As a matter of fact as I looked out of my window, by the time I finished with the first draft of this sermon, the sun was shining. As if there was ever any doubt that it would be back. There is no doubt, beloved in the Lord that the Son, S-O-N will be back as well. We can see Him, all but dimly right now. But one day, we will see Him in all His glory. And as we stand in the glow of a small child in Bethlehem this Advent Season, there is so much more to see. There is so much more that is ours. Our Lord is not silent and His light shines forth. The light is getting closer – the Advent wreath is getting a little brighter. Our Lord comes. Our Lord is coming. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.