Second Sunday in Advent: Old Testament, Malachi 3:1-7b                              

Malachi 3:1-7b

There is a lot of clamor in our world today about justice. Criminal, International, Social and a myriad of varieties. My first and most important contention is this: The word justice doesn’t need a modifier of any sort. To do so sullies, in my humble opinion the very subject discussed under that word, justice. Justice is simply this: that which is right. And that overarching principle is large enough and actually requires application across any field to which it might be called to serve. To give additional labels almost certainly implies additions that, to be very frank, turn justice into something other than what it is.

Here we read in the words of the great prophet Malachi: “And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers. against perjurers, …” And then this follows: “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob” (Malachi 3:5a, 6).

Two things are required for true justice to hold sway. One is an unbending standard, a universal if you will. Statements of justice apply equally to all which is why “Lady Justice” is blindfolded. There’s no peeking to see who is on the receiving end of her decision. And second, there must be a proper authority who determines what that standard is. And in this chapter of Malachi we have both. We have the principles of justice, while not exhaustive here, certainly implied. And we have the very voice of the Creator. The Creator of Justice and of all things, visible and invisible. This is what comes to us; better this is Who comes to us in this season. We love God’s mercy and rightly so. But do we also open our hearts to, and rejoice in His justice?