Musings and Contemplations

The sun of righteousness shall rise

Malachi 4 NRSV
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. 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. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.

Chrysostom
A person who has no knowledge of the sea could not sail in full daylight with such confidence and ease as the helmsman sails in the middle of the night, when the sea shows itself in a more formidable mood.  Why is this? The helmsman is wide awake and quite calm as he puts to practice his skill in sailing. He keeps careful watch not only on the pathways of the sea and the courses of the stars but also on the assaults of the winds. The helmsman’s wisdom and knowledge are great. So, it is that many a time when the blast of a more violent gale has struck his ship and is about to swamp it, he has the wisdom to make many a quick change to the angle of his sails. He runs before the wind and puts an end to all danger from the gale. By pitting his skill against the violence of the winds’ blasts, he snatches his vessel from the storm. Those sailors voyage over waters we can see and hear and feel. Although they are searching for this world’s goods, they continuously keep their minds watchful and alert.
All the more must we keep ourselves prepared in the same way they do. Surely the careless person faces a greater danger, while the somber one is more secure. This ship of ours is not constructed of timbers but is joined fast together with the divine Scriptures. The stars in the sky do not guide us on our way, but the Sun of justice steers our ship on its course. As we sit at the tiller, we are not waiting for the blasts of wind. We are waiting for the gentle breath of the Spirit.[1]

Heidelberg Catechism Question 28
What does it profit us to know that God has created, and by His providence still upholds, all things?
That we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future may have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from His love, since all creatures are so in his hand that without His will they cannot so much as move.

Look down, O Lord, from your heavenly throne, illumine this night with your celestial brightness, and from the children of light banish the deeds of darkness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen. (Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019)

He Will Hold Me Fast

[1] Homily “Against the Anomoeans” 7.5-6. Ancient Christian Devotional Year C, pp. 264-25.