Sunrise is Coming

“For you who revere my name the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings.” Malachi 4:2

The sun has yet to rise this morning, but I know that it will. As dark as it is outside my window, the night will not last forever. For this I give thanks. I know I’m not alone in sometimes struggling during the long watches of the night. Given free rein, my mind begins to imagine that to-do lists are longer than they really are, that problems are unsolvable, that challenges will be too difficult to overcome. In such moments I’ve learned to call myself back to center, to rein in my mind with the promise of the gospel. The night will not last forever. The sun will rise.

God has delightfully arranged creation to provide for times of rest and times of work and play. In this pattern we discern God’s promise. No night, no challenge, no difficulty will last forever. The sun will rise. As in this life, so in death. Christ, God enfleshed, enters the darkness of this world. Jesus succumbs to the long night of death. But the Son rises, and life breaks forth anew.

As the sun rises today, gives thanks to the majestic God of creation who is also the Christ child of Bethlehem, the Light of the world who rises with healing in his wings.

Be well, friends. You are loved.

God, you rule over both the night and the day. Give us the grace we need to live faithfully today, and the faith we need to entrust ourselves into your care when this day ends. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Image: Sunrise over snowy Lake Carlos, Alexandria, MN, January 16, 2018.