Sermon: The Twenty-third Sunday after pentecost

Sermon for Proper 28C

November 16, 2025

The Rev. Paul LeClair

Malachi 4:1-2a Psalm 98 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19

Breath of Heaven, comfort us with new life and hope.

Breath of Life, empower us to act creatively and compassionately.

Breath of Peace, guide us in the way of love and truth. Amen

~ ~ ~

In today’s readings both Jesus and Malachi used this phrase,

“The day will come …”

Many theologians believe that when Jesus used that phrase,

he was speaking about the end times that lead to Judgement. Day.

However, when Jesus used the phrase, “The day will come,” he was also reminding people that the things that we all build our lives on,

The things of this world do not last forever.

He was teaching, that despite the trials that shake our sureties,

and the disasters that topple our worlds,

we can always rebuild our lives on the things of God.

Here are some examples of people who have experienced end times and how

relics of hope, faith, and prayer inspired them to continue to move forward.

First let’s meet Kateryna, who, with her infant daughter, Anna,

evacuated from Ukraine with little more than the clothes on their back.

The home they lived in, and the school Anna attended, were now just rubble. Kateryna’s husband, countless friends and family members were gone forever.

All Kateryna was able to carry with her was a flash drive of her wedding photos, and her daughter’s hospital birth bracelet.

Now those items are symbols that provide her with hope.

They’re items that Kateryna hopes to give her daughter when she’s older

and when their life is more stable.

Next, we meet Henry. His most precious possession

is a photo of his wife, Cari, and their son, Sean.

Both were killed by a drunk driver.

The photo is a reminder of the beauty he once had in his life. It serves as motivation for him to adopt the qualities that he loved in them.

Cari had compassion to help others in need

and Sean showed excitement with everything new he discovered, which may have been a fascination with the detail of a leaf’s veins or the joy of making a new friend.

Lastly, meet Carolyn. Her Florida home was destroyed by hurricane Helena.

She took with her, a gold ring that her now deceased mother had given to Carolyn when she graduated from university.

She is now in Colorado living with her daughter’s family

while she determines whether to rebuild in Florida.

The ring is a sign of Carolyn’s memories

of how her mother cared for her when she was a child,

and how she took care of her mom during her later years.

Carolyn prays and thanks God, that she now has a loving daughter who has welcomed her into their home until she is able to start life anew.

Today’s Gospel should not terrify us or deflate our sense of hope, but rather, make us aware, that the things of the world will one day be gone and the things of God, are the means to lasting peace and joy as we journey from this world to the eternity of the next life.

~ ~ ~

When the prophet, Malachi, used the phrase, “The day is coming …”

he said that all the arrogant ones and all evildoers will be stubble.

In many instances, in today’s world, just as it did in Malachi’s time, it does appear that evildoers prosper.

However, let’s remember that Malachi also indicated that the day is coming when those who revere God’s name will rise with healing on its wings.

I’m sure we’re all aware of certain people or specific groups of people who seem to be intent on committing evil acts, causing harm, and taking unfair advantage of the vulnerable.

A few that may come to mind are internet scammers, corrupt public figures, power hungry people in authority, cheaters, liars, and thieves.

Although they appear to win, succeed, or benefit from their dishonesty or cruelty, something they are not experiencing is healing.

Those unsavory people are actually living in constant fear.

They’re drowning in fear of not having enough; fear of not being the best;

fear that someone else might look good or be successful;

fear of getting caught up in their own lies and deception.

In contrast, are those who revere and trust in the Lord.

They’re the ones who recognize the blessings in their lives.

They rejoice when others prosper, thrive and do well.

For them, the day has risen (as Malachi said it) with healing in its wings.

~ ~ ~

The writer of Psalm 98 described what winged healing might look like.

It’s a desire to sing a new song to the LORD, who has done marvelous things.

Winged healing is when all the lands shout with joy to the LORD, and lift up their voices, rejoicing, and singing.

Healing with wings sounds like harps, voices, trumpets, the roaring sea, the clap of a flowing river, or an echo in the mountains.

So, what do we envision it looks like, when healing rises with wings?

I asked a few people, and here are six responses people gave me.

• Winged healing feels like a contentment,

you know, that peace that surpasses human understanding.

• Co-existence is healing on wings.

It’s when people who are different from each other,

or who have differing opinions or beliefs can still sit down

and have thought provoking conversations with each other.

• It’s the great joy when my grandchildren experience

successes in their school, make friends, and enjoy themselves

while playing sports, playing a musical instrument or singing.

• Winged healing is lack of fear: I remember the time I was diagnosed

with a serious medical condition, yet I was not filled with fearful thoughts

or overwhelmed with worry.

I just really believed that I was in the 20 percent

whose treatment is successful.

• Thankfulness is my sign of healing. Every night I reflect on

the blessings of the day and I prayerfully express my gratitude.

• Winged healing is grace, as in growing old gracefully.

A person who has this kind of grace, recognizes that

there are things that they are less able to do than they used to.

They may need help with certain things now;

yet they approach those challenges without bitterness or anger.

They are healed by letting go of the need to be in total control all the time.

~ ~ ~

While Collie and I were visiting Collie’s daughter, Vanessa’s family

we went with our grandkids to Hershey, Pennsylvania.

While we were there, we learned that Milton Hershey gave away his fortune twice. The first time, in 1918, he gave his majority ownership of the Hershey Chocolate Company to a trust for the Milton Hershey School.

This was a school for boys, like Milton, who were orphans.

It provided an exceptional educational experience for the boys so, they could thrive and prosper.

The second time, was in Milton Hershey’s 1944 will.

He directed the remainder of his estate to be put into another trust;

This time for the Derry Township Public School District.

A quote attributed to Milton Hershey sounds to me very much like the words of the prophet Malachi.

“One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy,

and is only useful as he contributes his influence for the finer callings of life.”

~ ~ ~

Yes, the day will come, and for many of us, has already arrived, when we face hard times. Here are six helpful “Notes To self” that can be helpful when life gets difficult.

First, when hard times hit there’s a tendency for us to assume that the future holds more of the same.

For some strange reason this doesn’t happen as much when things are going well. A laugh, a smile, and a warm fuzzy feeling are fleeting and we know it.

But when we’re stressed, struggling, or fearful, it’s easy to heap on more pain by assuming tomorrow will be exactly like today.

Malachi may have made this same observation and so he said that the day will come when things will be different.

Let’s never assume that we’re stuck with the way things are right now.

Life changes every single second, and so can we.

The second note to self: It is, what it is, right now.

Accept it, learn from it, and grow from it.

Whatever has been done … is done.

What truly matters is what we do from here.

Letting go doesn’t mean we don’t care about something, or someone, anymore.

It’s just realizing that the only thing we really have control over is ourself in the present. The present is, well … a present; a gift that gives us an opportunity to look at a situation with fresh eyes and an open mind, and then … to take the next step.

Thirdly, Rather than annoy us, we can use pain, frustration and inconvenience to motivate rather than annoy us. We’re in control of the way we look at life.

Instead of getting angry, we can find the lesson.

In place of envy, feel admiration. In place of worry, take action.

In place of doubt, have faith.

Our response is always more powerful than our circumstance.

Just a tiny part of our life is decided by completely uncontrollable circumstances. The vast majority of our life is decided by our responses.

We control how we play the hands we’ve been dealt.

Note to self, number four: The most effective way to move away from something,

is to move toward something we do want, one step at a time.

Build small daily rituals. What we do in small steps on a daily basis changes everything over time.

When hard times hit, we tend to yearn for instant gratification.

We want things to get better, and we want it better now!

Collie has said to me, “How do you eat an elephant? — One spoonful at a time.”

In other words, (in case you aren’t interested in eating an elephant,)

We can’t lift a thousand pounds all at once,

yet we can easily lift one pound a thousand times.

Small, repeated, incremental efforts will get us to a better place.

Number Five: Effort is never wasted, even when it leads to disappointing results.

Every attempt makes us more educated, more experienced, and stronger in the end.

Just because we are struggling, does not mean we’re failing.

Our faith has taught us that the things we desire may not happen today,

but they will happen, so practice patience.

Patience is not about waiting. It is about keeping a good attitude while working diligently to make daily progress.

Our last note to self is this: Ten years from now it won’t really matter what shoes we wore today, how our hair looked, or what brand of clothes we wore.

What will matter is how we lived, how we loved, and what we learned along the way.

~ ~ ~

Let us pray.

Jesus, you are our Master Teacher, our Lord, and the One who saves us.

The day will come when we will see you face to face.

Until that day, may we see your face

in the faces of our fellow sojourners on this earth.

May we hear your voice in the holy scriptures

and in the words of our fellow believers.

And may we feel your presence in our worship, our prayers, and in our actions to serve the needs of others.

Thank you for teaching us how to pray faithfully;

For demonstrating how to love freely;

and for empowering us to bring healing into our corners of this broken world.

Amen.

Sources:

The New Interpreters Study Bible, NRSV with Apocrypha, Abington Press, Nashville, 2003

Connections, November 2025, MediaWorks, Londonderry, N.H.

Milton S. Hershey Gave His Fortune To Impact Thousands, Milton Hershey School, 2025

Relics of Hope, Danya Issawi, The Cut Magazine, Fall 2025

7 Mindful “Notes to Self” We Should All Memorize Before Life Gets Any Harder, Marc Chernoff, Hack Life, 2025