Wheat or Chaff

4. 1 The LORD of Heaven's armies says, "The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed--roots, branches, and all. 2 "But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings".

[Malachi 4:1-2a]  

I've spent quite a lot of time up trees recently. Which isn't as much fun as it sounds.

It is satisfying though.

Our house has a little garden, just past a shared lane and down a few steps.  It's big enough for us to sit out and have barbecues, grow a few herbs and for our cat to prowl around pretending she's a tiger.  But for the last three years we've hardly used the little garden because it's been in permanent shadow under our neighbour's 40 foot pine trees.

The trees were at a reasonable height when we moved in, but they've grown and grown and grown.  I've been round to see the neighbours a couple of times to ask if they would trim the trees but never managed to get hold of them, and there always seemed to be more pressing jobs than fighting a turf war.

Well all that changed a couple of months ago, when another neighbour, a less busy and more grouchy neighbour, did start a war.  They complained daily, until Mrs. Pine-Trees and her son gave in and agreed to do something about the problem.

One tree was felled and then Mrs. Pine-Trees had a hip operation, which went wrong and left her pretty much bed-ridden, her son was working all day and looking after the house at night and the tree-felling stopped.

Now, I knew none-of this, I just saw one tree had come down and the rest hadn't so I went to see Mrs. Pine-Trees and got the whole sorry tale; and being the generous soul that I am I offered to cut the trees down myself.

I'm not really generous. Cutting the trees finally lets sunlight back into our garden, and I can dry the wood and burn it in our wood stove next year: free heat.

But that does mean I have to sit twelve foot up a pine tree cutting the branches around me.

It's not until you've been deprived of something for a while that you realise it's value. Standing in our garden with the sunlight streaming through the remaining trees is so uplifting , it makes me want to get back out there and start weeding and planting. It fills my head with possibilities. It's warming and healing to the soul.

That's what Malachi refers to in today's Old Testament reading, the healing power of the sun of righteousness.  It's the promise of something wonderful for the true followers of God.  At the same time there's a warning to evildoers, that the very same sun can consume them totally, it can burn them up.

Some of the wood that I've gathered up is already dry: dead branches and twigs that I can use as kindling. What amazes me is how fast our wood stove can burn up a pine branch--there's a crackle and a few seconds later it's completely gone.

I think part of Malachi's message might be lost on most Twenty-First century listeners. The people  who turn on their gas fire when they're cold, and turn it off again when the heating comes on. For them fire is something that can be controlled, it's almost like a pet, or a tool, to be enjoyed but not respected.  The Old Testament hearers had no illusions though.  Fire can be harnessed, and used, but it can't really be controlled, it has to be respected, even feared.

Through Malachi, God was reminding the people--and remember he was talking to the believers, the Old Testament version of us--he was reminding the believers that a day was coming when those who really believed, and did what they were supposed to as true believers would be healed, and on that same day, the arrogant would be burned up.

That day hasn't come yet. I say that with some conviction: I know it hadn't come by John the Baptist's day because he referred to the same thing:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

[Matt 3.11-12]

 And Jesus said it too, at the end of the parable of the tares:

"The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!"

[Matt 13.41-43]

And there hasn't really been any event in world history that we might think fulfils this prophecy

So here's the timeless truth: that day is still coming, a day when the true believers will be made leafy and luscious again, but the arrogant will be burned up in a fire that can't be controlled and can't be put out.

Personally, I'm hoping it won't come while I'm up a tree, but that's not essential.