Matins Devotion: September 27, 2024

Malachi 3:6-4:6

In Hebrew, “semes” is the word for the giant star that gives light to our planet. And “ben” is the word for a man’s male offspring. These words obviously sound nothing alike in Hebrew, but for English speakers, of course, these words are homophones, “sun” and “son,” which makes the English translation of Malachi 4:2 wonderfully poetic with a play on words it yields. Now perhaps it’s just a coincidence, or perhaps God guided the formation of our tongue in such a way to give us a little treasure, but either way, the results are fantastic: “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” 

So Jesus Christ is the “semes” of righteousness, the sun, the star of righteousness. Once this world was cold and frigid, frozen over, lifeless and barren. But then Jesus Christ arrived with His warmth. With His blood, He poured out His warmth over you, over your flesh. With the warmth of His forgiveness, He brought color back to your flesh, brought life back into your body. And in the same way, the star of righteousness arrived with light, with the light from His resurrected face, He invited you to gain up the new world that He brought into existence for you. He invited you to gaze upon the face of your Father who had now taken you into His eternally warm embrace, 

And Jesus Christ is also the “ben” of righteousness, the Son of righteousness, the eternally begotten, eternally righteous Son of His righteous Father. Once you were fatherless, hopeless, an orphan lost in the wilderness of despair and condemnation. But then Jesus Christ took on flesh and became your brother to bring you home. He came into your world of sorrows and destroyed them all. He brought you to the waters of Holy Baptism, washed in His death and resurrection, and adopted you into the family of God, thereby making you a fellow heir of His Father’s kingdom.. Thanks be to God for the sun of righteousness who is also the Son of Righteousness.