My soul is longing, my soul is longing,
my soul is longing for you, O Lord, my God!

 

Twenty-five years ago,
as the clock approached midnight
on December 31^st, 1999,
there were many people
who were concerned about what would happen to computers
and computer run equipment
when the clocks rolled over from 99 to 00.
At the time most computers only had two digit years
in their programs.

Would computers crash?
Would airplanes fall from the sky?
Would anything and everything that counted years in two digits
simply freeze up when the internal clocks rolled over?

My sister, who was at the time a bank vice-president,
couldn’t attend a New Year's Eve party.
She had to be at work
just in case the worse happened.

The Y2K virus turned out to be nothing.
Everything with a computerized clock continued to work
as it had  a minute earlier.
The panic of 2000 was a dud.

 

My soul is longing, my soul is longing,
my soul is longing for you, O Lord, my God!

 

The people of Israel at the time of Malachi
knew what had already happened.
The kingdom lay in ruins.
Many people had been sent into exile.
They were far from home
and in many ways felt far from God.
They knew that they had been unfaithful to the covenant.
They knew that the punishment they were enduring
was well deserved.
Their own lack of faith,
their own sinful deeds had led to the current situation,
when Malachi arrived with today’s message from God.
For those who continued to disregard God’s commands,
“the day [was] coming, blazing like and oven”

When everything they depended on would be destroyed.
But all was not doom and gloom.
For all who fear God’s name,
all who stand in awe before God’s presence,
there was still hope.

“The sun of justice” would arise “with its healing rays,
better day laid ahead.
The time of exile would come to an end.
Jerusalem would be rebuilt.
The Temple would one day shine in glory.
God’s presence among God’s people would be seen once again.

 

My soul is longing, my soul is longing,
my soul is longing for you, O Lord, my God!

 

When my father turned 65,
he was certain that he would die soemtime that year.
He was afraid of dying.
He was afraid of meeting his maker.

Both his parents died when they were 65,
so he was sure that he would, too.
So I reminded him that his paternal grandmother lived to 96
and his maternal grandfather lived to be 86.
But he was convinced that the end was near,
and he was worried about whether or not God
would truly be merciful.

 

A few years later,
when his heart, his lungs, and his liver were failing,
his fear of death disappeared.
Having survived his 65^th year,
he came to know a God who was merciful,
a God who was walking with him
as he faced his final days.

 

My soul is longing, my soul is longing,
my soul is longing for you, O Lord, my God!

 

When Jesus was standing near the Temple,
when people asked him when the Temple would be destroyed,
he told them that several things would happen first.

He told them not to believe people who claimed to know.
He told them that “wars and insurrections” would happen,
that “nation [would] rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom.”
He told them about “powerful earthquakes, famines and plagues,”
and “awesome sights and mighty signs… from the sky.”

Jesus told his followers about persecutions to come,
but he also told them not to worry.
“Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

 

My soul is longing, my soul is longing,
my soul is longing for you, O Lord, my God!

 

Every year,
as the liturgical year draws to a close,
we hear stories about the end times.
Every few years,
someone says that this is it.
They had figured out exactly when
the end will happen.

But Jesus tells us that neither the angels in heaven,
nor even the Son of God
knows the time nor the hour.
Jesus simply tells us to be prepared,
to remember God’s mercy,
to stand in awe before the presence of God
here and now.
If we do those simple things,

We’ll be ready whenever the time comes.

 

My soul is longing, my soul is longing,
my soul is longing for you, O Lord, my God!

 

We’d all like to know in advance.
But Jesus reminds us
that if our souls are longing for God,
if our hearts are open to God’s mercy,
then we’ll be ready no matter when God comes.

 

Our souls are longing, our souls are longing,
our souls are longing for you, O Lord, our God!