ZEPHANIAH 3.14-20
AN EXPOSITION FOR
the 3rd Sunday in Advent
“Gaudete” 2009
Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from Almighty God, the Father, @the Son and
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The reading that we shall look at more closely is the First reading we heard
this morning in which we were told:
'Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all
your heart, O Daughters of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment,
He has turned back your enemy.
The prophecy of Zephaniah is full of warnings, condemnations and judgments and
divine threats, but today's quotation from the prophet shows that such
expressions of God's anger and disappointment are not the end of the story. The
joyfulness of this quotation from Zephaniah comes as a welcome change in tone
in the midst of a prophecy that began with the words '...I will utterly sweep
away everything from the face of the earth!'
To understand more of the story, you should know that the prophet Zephaniah was
the tutor of an 8 year old boy called Josiah, who also happened to be reigning
from a dilapidated Jerusalem as the king of Judah. Within 10 years, Josiah
would turn things around. He would lead Judah out of the paganism and idolatry
that had provoked the anger of God and restore proper God-pleasing worship in
the land.
What we hear in chapter three of Zephaniah's vision of the things to come is an
outburst of joy in the midst of a call for repentance.
Such a reading is appropriate for Advent, since Advent is a season of
repentance for the Church (rather like Lent in some ways). Yet in the midst of
this season we are treated to an outburst of joy. The rosiness of this week is
symbolised by the rose colour of the Advent candle, and (in some churches) all
the vestments are rose on this Sunday. In any case it is appropriate for our
church to be decorated now and for us to start rejoicing, since Christmas
itself will be upon us very soon.
For humanity as well as for every living thing in this world, outbursts of joy
can be all too rare. For many people Christmas time is one of those rare
times. Many more people feel that it should be a time of rejoicing, but isn't
and so they try to make themselves joyful through parties and the use of
mind-altering substances.
Yet if we who are mortals and sinners in this world find that the world lacks
joy, how also must God Himself, who is immortal and perfect, feel about this
world populated by people who continually offend Him and challenge His love?
Where is the joy in this world for Him? Incredible though it may seem, the
infinite and Almighty God who created the earth and its people feels the same
way as his creatures feel!
The Bible abounds with references to the grief of God, the grief of the Holy
Spirit and so on. Yet, today's text is not about grief. It is about joy. The
joy is the joy of God and the joy of His people. Using imagery that is
strikingly human and touching, today's 1st reading says that God will both
“quiet us with His love” and “sing loudly over us”.
Surely this tells us, that God, just like you and I, has - as one of His goals
- joy. Joy for us and joy with Him, and His love lets nothing stand in the way
of that joy. You can sense that joy in the words of today's Old Testament
reading: 'Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice
with all your heart, O Daughters of Jerusalem!. The LORD has taken away your
punishment, He has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is
with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that Day they will say to
Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD
your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing". The
sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you;'.
God's love has always had its object. Again and again the word of God
identifies that object: 'My people, my people'. And God is as He says 'God
with Us'. 'My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they
will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel
holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever' (Ezekiel 37.27-28).
This is echoed in Zephaniah's words: 'The LORD your God is with you, He is
mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His
love, He will rejoice over you with singing'.
God knows that He can take no joy in the world as it is. Therefore - as you or
I would do, if we were God - God took action to make His joy complete.
With joy as His goal, God set about to purchase a gift for Himself and what God
purchased was US - His people, and the price He paid was His own blood on the
cross. By carrying out a plan to save the world from its own sins, God made it
possible for us to have faith in Him and also for Him to have joy in us, now
and forever.
This is an especially valuable gift since we cannot have faith without God's
help. God wants joy, we need joy. God creates joy. We receive it from Him
when we put our faith in Him. Any resemblance between us and God is purely
intentional. After all, He created us in His own image didn't He?
The prophecy of Zephaniah makes it clear how fed up God can get with people who
constantly disappoint and betray Him by their sins. It also shows us how He
can create an outburst of joy in the midst of the most miserable situations.
How can God do this? It is simple. He committed Himself to love and He acted
upon that love with Joy. "For the joy that was set before Him, Christ Jesus,
God in the Flesh, endured the cross, disregarding the shame (the Bible says)
and as a result now reigns in glory at the right hand of the throne of God.
And to that Lamb enthroned flow endless expressions of joy and praise to the
One who redeemed human beings to God by His blood and is worthy of all worship
(Heb. 12.2).
As God sings for joy, so do His people. 'Shout aloud and sing for joy, people
of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you' (Is 12.6). 'Shout' and
be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you',
declares the LORD'.
(Zechariah 2.10)
Our joy, as we prepare to celebrate the first Advent of our Lord once more, is
that our LORD did come into this world to live among us. And our joy every
week is that our LORD comes among us in His body and blood that He might have
the forgiveness of our sins, that He might be in us and we in Him.
Holy Communion is a joy to receive. And our joy is not artificially
manufactured, but rooted in facts that caused God Himself to rejoice. May God
enable us to understand more about the loving action of God, and may the
knowledge of God's love bring us joy today and always. Amen.
The Revd Dr Jonathan Naumann,
Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church & School
1261 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Oakmont, PA 15139-1195
Internet site:
redeemer-oakmont.org
e-mail:
jnaum...@redeemer-oakmont.org
Tel. (412) 828-9323 Ext. 10
Cell. (412) 983-9922
Home: (412) 826-8833
The Manse
782 15th Street,
Oakmont, PA 15139
Informal blog:
engelein.blogspot.com
