Finding peace
Commentary
There are plenty of circumstances in which to feel anxious today. Will the stock market continue to grow or will it crash? What will become of my retirement investments? When and where will terrorists next strike? How will ethnic bloodbaths affect stability in a region and even the world? Will military men and women, who may be family, be sent to hot spots at the risk of their lives? Is it possible to keep up with the speed of doing business, let alone the cost? Where is there any moment to rest in the pace of daily life? What purpose does any one person serve in the midst of swelling billions on the face of the globe? With so many choices on the table, how can a person make intelligent decisions, especially when any one decision may exclude the good of another choice? In the presence of these questions, it seems rather trite to ask if all the right gifts for all the necessary people have been purchased. Yet, that too becomes an anxious question at this time of year. In the midst of all this, where is peace to be found? Will there ever come a day when these particular questions and others like them will not need to be asked?
The season of Advent draws us closer to the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. It is not that the festival nor the One we honor draws us out of the real world, like a heroin fix. Rather, as we approach the Christ of Christmas (or better, as he approaches us), we learn how to face and deal with the anxieties of life in a radically redefining way.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Speaking the word of the Lord in the last quarter of the seventh century B.C., Zephaniah (whose name means "he whom Yahweh has hidden or protected") had the challenging responsibility to pronounce God's judgment. The judgment is cast against the whole world, all nations, and Judah in particular. For the people, there may have appeared a window of hope, a reprieve in the devastation wrought by Assyria, as this "tiger" from the north grew old and tired as empires do. But, the decline of Assyria only meant that the "bear" of Babylon could rear up and claw its way to the podium of power. The prophet saw in this the continuing judgment of God upon a superstitious people who "fill their master's house with violence and fraud" (1:9). Zephaniah proclaims in no uncertain terms that God is in charge throughout the unfolding events of history. It is God who brings judgment upon his people (1:4); it is God who will remove the judgment from the people (3:18). God is alive and active "in your midst" -- a notion repeated twice in the pericope (and echoed by a contemporary, Habakkuk 1:5).
In response to the practical atheism rampant on the streets ("The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill" 1:12), Zephaniah announces that after God's righteous judgment, there will yet again be a time for singing and rejoicing. In the anxious moments caused by empires swaggering across the landscape, there comes a word of hope. The Lord will champion the cause of his people, like "a warrior who gives victory" (3:17). What the prophet is describing so eloquently is not the cheap pabulum of advice in the face of adversity, "Don't worry; be happy!" It is the profound insight and necessary word to hear that God truly cares for his people. So much so, that God has already arrived at the song before the people can even voice it (3:17b, c). It is God who rejoices in his people and this is the source of the gracious events that are yet to come about from the hand of the Lord. Therefore, "Do not fear, O Zion" (3:16). Your rejoicing will soon rise up from the earth, but only in response to God's rejoicing that comes down from heaven.
The Psalmist also expresses well that confidence in the presence and promises and power of God in describing how God never sleeps and "will not let your foot be moved" (Psalm 121:3), and again by calling upon the angels "to guard you in all your ways ... lest you dash your foot against a stone" (Psalm 91:11-12). It is this prophetic and pastoral word that surrounds the anxious believer and can beckon even the atheist with a peace withstanding the changing currents of life. This is the word of the Lord with which Zephaniah begins and ends his work (1:1 and 3:20).
In 626 B.C., when Zephaniah was prophesying, young King Josiah discovered the Book of Deuteronomy and read it to the people, bringing about a brief response of repentance and reform. What the reforms of Josiah did in the days of Zephaniah, offering the people a glimpse of the righteousness of God, the coming Christ will do in a far more profound way, himself being the righteousness of God and the very song God will sing on the earth, for the earth, through the voice of Jesus. His foot was not moved, nor did he dash it against the stone of temptation. He perfectly revealed "the Lord ... in your midst" (3:15) and continues to give God's people a saving peace that an anxious world longs for.
Philippians 4:4-7
Being in prison is no easy task. Writing a cheerful letter from prison is a bit much! But, Paul knows how to do his time with grace and patience and joy, because he has a peace "which passes all understanding" (4:7). Even from behind bars, Paul is doing missionary work, spreading the spirit of the gospel. How can he do this?
Like a skilled illusionist, he has learned the art of where to be: namely, "in the Lord" (4:4), "in Christ Jesus" (4:7). The difference is that his art is not illusory, but spiritually substantial; it is not grounded in philosophical speculation or immanent theology, but in the historical happenings of Jesus crucified on the cross and risen from the tomb. This Jesus, who ascended to the Father after he accomplished what he came to accomplish, will come again soon. "The Lord is at hand" (4:5b). Therefore, even in prison one can rejoice. Even in suffering one can have forbearance. Even with anxiety dripping out of every pore, prayer can provide the way for peace to permeate everything with which one is concerned. The key is to be "in the Lord ... in Christ Jesus."
Positioning is all-important. Archimedes said, "Give me a point and I can move the world." He was explaining the principle of the fulcrum. Paul, in explaining the principle of peace, positions the petitioner "in" the one who, like Zephaniah's warrior, has conquered all that would cause anxiety within us: "sin, death, and the power of the devil" is the way Martin Luther would describe it. One can rejoice in the Lord, because he has already won the victory that sets us free to be children of God. Our rejoicing is not necessarily over current events, which often times are against us. Our rejoicing is over the accomplished fact of our salvation, for which we can give thanksgiving.
This is also the basis which Paul uses to entreat Euodia and Syntyche (4:2) to come to agreement in the Lord. Squabbles in the church can easily set people against one another, unless they both have a common ground on which to stand, in the Lord, to address their difference from a healthy perspective. Positioning is everything. When the heart and mind of two people are in Christ Jesus, it is easier to stand together to deal with matters that would otherwise have the power to divide.
Luke 3:7-18
The foreboding judgment that Zephaniah spoke of carries the same tune as that of John the Baptist. The seer John in the Book of Revelation picks up on the dissonant melody and describes seven bowls of wrath that are to be poured out. The Baptist even pictures Jesus implementing a harvest judgment in the end, when "the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire" (3:17). From one perspective, it may seem that the Bible is never finished talking about "the wrath to come" (3:7). From another perspective, it is true that the Bible never gives up talking about the call to repentance in preparation for the revelation of the goodness of God. In Zephaniah's day it would be seen in the restoration of the people; in John the Baptist's day it would be in the coming of the one "who is mightier than I" (3:16); in the Book of Revelation it will be finally seen in the consummation brought about when Christ returns in power and glory.
John the Baptist expressed his confidence that God is in charge and at work in the world of his day by reference to the stones, which God could use to raise up children of Abraham. There is nothing too little or too great for God to do. Even the inert matter of creation can be transformed by the living God to do his bidding. Then, John uses the metaphor of an axe "laid to the root of the trees" (3:9) in reference to the judgment that is at hand. The people only had to look around them to see the power of Rome rendering the olive shoots of Israel impotent.
John the Baptist offers some very practical advice for people who take seriously their lives in the presence of God. God wants "fruits that befit repentance" (3:8). For the concerned neighbor, that means to share with those less fortunate. For the tax collectors that means honesty instead of fraud (see Zephaniah 1:9) when it comes to collecting taxes. For the soldier it means to behave on duty and not to misuse (violence: see Zephaniah 1:9) the entrusted power given by the government. Deeds in daily life that could be characterized as good fruit are what God wants from those who strive to walk in godly ways.
In the doing of God's work, one should not expect an easy go of it. The prophet's reward is always around the corner. John had to face the wrath of Herod Antipas (one of the surviving sons of Herod the Great), tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. He is imprisoned and then beheaded. Jesus would face the scorn and ridicule of this same Herod the night of his execution. There is nothing mentioned about peace in this pericope; yet, when one looks at the lives of John and Jesus as a whole, it can be said that they bore the stress of their work well with an undergirding confidence that they were doing God's work. This was their integrity, which formed a solid footing for calm in the midst of the storm that brewed around them.
Application
Our American culture has donned the garb of practical atheism. In Zephaniah's day it was pressed flat and wrinkle free; God is detached from the affairs of the world to be of no practical value either for good or ill. God exists, indeed, but is not particularly present or active in matters pertaining to our life on earth. Today, practical atheism is woven with threads that make relative the very existence of God on the one hand and, on the other, make private God's place in the world, virtually stitching the role of one's relationship with God on the fringe of public apparel in our lives together.
The founding, civil documents of our states and nation build their perspectives and directives on the basis of God's sovereignty over the life of this land and its people. Yet, today we have radically misinterpreted the Jeffersonian phrase of a wall of separation between church and state so as to eliminate effectively from our schools and courts reference to the Judeo-Christian foundation of our country. The call to repentance needs to be extended not just to the individual hearts of people, but also to the soul of the nation. The prophets knew how to do this.
With prophetic eyes and ears, we need only attend to the news of the day to see the wrath of God visiting our country with the decay that is to be expected when a people lose their vision of their life with God. Then, with the boldness of the prophets, we need to declare the seasons of God's visitation upon us. There is the season of judgment and the season of mercy. No one will be exempt from the former, but only those who repent will experience the final intent of all God's activities with us. Zephaniah, with his very name, reveals God's heart in the matter. It is God's intention to provide mercy, to hide and protect the believer even from his own wrath.
No more beautiful expression of this has been penned than by Ignatius in his Anima Christi prayer: "Within thy wounds hide me" or, as a more contemporary rendering has it, "May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross." (See The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, David L. Flemming, S.J.) Thus, for the repentant, there can be a confident peace even in the season of wrath, because God's heart is ultimately set on exulting over his beloved. This creates a spirit of humility that Mary will soon express, as she contemplates the birth of Messiah from her womb (Luke 1:46-55).
This is a message to which Gen-Xers and Millennium Kids can relate. The shadow side of their experience creates a foil with which to appreciate the season of Advent and the meaning of Jesus. Gen-Xers are those who survived the abortion option, grew up as the children of divorce, and were latch-keyed while the parents worked. They hold a cynical attitude toward life in general, using sarcasm as a meaningful way of communicating. They feel disconnected and broken, living out their young adulthood in a rather fragmented tribal culture with no over-arching story that defines their story and gives them a place and a family.
Millennium Kids are subject to the issues of adulthood at an earlier and earlier age, which stresses the normal maturing process. They are living in a society in which the family has disintegrated. Even though they may be spiritually open, they are indifferent to Christianity and can easily be turned toward the occult.
How can we reach these generations with the gospel? Here are the youth of our world longing for a story that gives coherence to their lives and provides a reason to hope in a world that is collapsing around them. Sounds a lot like Israelite history. The voices from Scripture give us clues as to what to say and how to say it. Paul tells us that God's peace moves us beyond the particular moods of our day; it is a peace that passes all understanding. That peace will be found -- not in a proposition, not in a particular place to which one makes a pilgrimage, not in various self-discovery experiences, not in a self-generated defiance or affirmation against the appearance of reality ("It's the end of the world and I feel fine" are words from an REM song) -- but in the person of Jesus. Truth and its story come packaged not in media hype nor self-proclamation, but in the person of Jesus. Repentance, turning toward him, will lead the person into joy and peace.
Zephaniah's voice expresses the realism that is so important to the children of today. The medium and the message (a la Marshall McCluen) need to have a corresponding integrity and coherence about them that can stand the scrutiny of reason. The collapse of today's social order is clear enough; that this is the hand of God writing the next chapter of the on-going story of the people of God and the created order is a message that needs to be heralded loudly and clearly. The difficulty in hearing such a message is meliorated by the knowledge of God's ultimate intention and determination to rejoice over the beloved. This is what provides the peace "which passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) from a merely world-centered view. Just like we need patience to get through the weeks before Christmas until we can enjoy the family gathering, meals, and exchange of presents, so, too, we need patience (forbearance) as we wait for God to "gather the wheat into his granary" (Luke 3:17), a metaphor of hope, which is what the season of Advent is all about.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Our Old Testament text for the morning from the prophet Zephaniah invites us to a party. At this season of the year, we can call it a Christmas party, and Zephaniah tells us that right smack in the middle of this party, there is God -- celebrating. "The Lord, your God, is in your midst," reads our text, and what is he doing? He is rejoicing over us with gladness. He is singing. The Lord God Almighty is here in our company, joining in our songs and celebrations at this Christmastime!
That is simply a fantastic picture of the Lord that the prophet Zephaniah has given to us. And yet, if you stop to think about it, this God of the Bible has always loved a good party. Do you remember when the Son of God attended that wedding at Cana and provided more wine for the guests when the host had run out of drink? Do you recall how he said that the Father would celebrate when that prodigal son returned to his home -- with a feast of a fatted calf and merry making? Or do you remember how our Lord Jesus said that God celebrates over sinners returned to him -- with parties to which all the neighbors are invited, and even with the angels in heaven rejoicing (Luke 15:6-7). God loves happy parties. The prophet Jeremiah even says that when the Kingdom of God comes there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness (Jeremiah 33:11). We often think that things religious have to do with solemnity and sober piety. But no. The Old and New Testaments say that the deepest religion has to do with festivities and rejoicing. And the picture that Zephaniah gives us in our text for the morning portrays the Lord God celebrating at a party.
We well might ask, therefore, what is the cause for the Lord's celebration, and that takes us back into what has gone before in the prophecies of Zephaniah. The book comes to us from about 640 to 609 B.C., so Zephaniah's ministry overlaps some with that of Jeremiah. That was not a happy time in the life of Judah. The country suffered under the lingering effects of the evil reign of King Manasseh, who engaged in idolatry, human sacrifice, and the persecution of the prophets. After Manasseh's son was murdered, King Josiah tried to instigate a widespread reform in Judah, but the reform did not take, and when Jehoiakim ascended to the throne, conditions were as bad as ever. Zephaniah portrays those conditions in the preceding chapters of his book.
The people of Judah completely lost sight of any working and presence of God in their midst, Zephaniah says. They were heard to say, "The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill" (Zephaniah 1:12) -- in other words, they thought God would do nothing. So the people of Jerusalem did not listen to any correction of their ways (3:2), and the result was, preaches Zephaniah, that "her officials within her are roaring lions;/ her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning./ Her prophets are wanton, faithless men;/ her priests profane what is sacred,/ they do violence to the law" (3:3-4).
Over-against the Judeans' belief that God would do nothing about their sin, however, Zephaniah announces that the Lord is coming on the Day of the Lord to issue his final judgment on the earth, and to destroy not only Jerusalem and Judah, but his enemies throughout the world. "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," says the Lord (1:2). The Lord God is a Mighty Man of War in Zephaniah's burning book, and he is coming on the final Day to do away with all who have opposed him. He has uttered his war cry (1:14), and he has turned against his people who have ignored and turned against him.
Have you ever stopped to think about that -- that God declares war against us for our sin? That is a frequent announcement by the prophets (Amos 5:18-20; Isaiah 2:6-22; Ezekiel 7:5-27; Joel 1:15; 2:1-11; Malachi 4:5), and they mean it to be taken very seriously, for the divine Warrior has the power to destroy everything that he has created. "I kill and I make alive," God declares, "... and there is none that can deliver out of my hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39).
I wonder if that is not what we all vaguely realize at every Christmastime and if that is not what drives us to seek out a church, even when some of us have not come very frequently at other times of the year. Do we not more or less deeply realize that our lives finally are in the hands of God, that we really have not and cannot find rescue in ourselves or the things of this world, and that we do in fact need a Savior whose coming means good tidings for all people?
Our passage for the morning brings us those happy tidings. Despite the burning fury of the Lord that Zephaniah portrays, and despite the frightful warfare that God declares against all sin and evil, Zephaniah peers on into the future, and in our text, beyond the final judgment, the prophet foretells salvation and the peace of God. There will come a time, the prophet proclaims, when God will cleanse out from his people the proud and haughty who have rebelled against him (3:11), and there will be left "a people humble and lowly" who seek their refuge in God, who "do no wrong and utter no lies" (3:12-13).
And why will that time come? Because God is merciful. Certainly the people of Judah and Jerusalem could not correct and transform their own lives. They had already been through one reform period under Josiah, and they were no better than before. But nevertheless, God in his mercy promises to cleanse their society and their ways until they seek their refuge in him alone and do no wrong. And we're very much like those Judeans, aren't we? We keep talking about the renewal of the church in our time, and somehow no transformation takes place. We vow to live more faithful lives, and yet follow our same old sinful patterns. And yet, God promises us too, in Zephaniah, his cleansing and his transformation, so that he becomes the King, the Ruler of all our thoughts and deeds.
And when God so transforms us, you see, then he will take away his judgments against us, as our text says (v. 15). We will need not fear any more his wrath and his condemnation, not even on that final Day of the Lord when he comes to judge the earth. Indeed, the Hebrew of verse 17d in our text even says that his war cry against us will be stilled. It reads, "He will hold his peace in his love." And instead of warring against us, he will celebrate our salvation with us, rejoicing over us with gladness and exultation in that wonderful party that our prophet pictures.
But it is a Christmas party, as we have said. For when Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem, God fulfills Zephaniah's prophecy. Rather than war against us for our sin or condemn us in that final day of judgment, God in his love sends us his Son to transform our lives. It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, working in us, that can make us into new creatures, humble, faithful, good in the sight of our God. It is because of the death and resurrection of his Son that God's warfare against us is stilled and our sin is forgiven. And it is by God's gift of that Son that the Day of the Lord, the final judgment, will mean for us not death, but life eternal and very great rejoicing. Indeed, on that final day there will be a celebration like we cannot imagine, with all the saints shouting out their joy and the stars of heaven singing together. It's going to be a grand party, friends. But I think we can anticipate it a little right now. For Christ has come. The Lord is in our midst. The Christmas party has started. Let's sing and rejoice and join in the celebration.
The season of Advent draws us closer to the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. It is not that the festival nor the One we honor draws us out of the real world, like a heroin fix. Rather, as we approach the Christ of Christmas (or better, as he approaches us), we learn how to face and deal with the anxieties of life in a radically redefining way.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Speaking the word of the Lord in the last quarter of the seventh century B.C., Zephaniah (whose name means "he whom Yahweh has hidden or protected") had the challenging responsibility to pronounce God's judgment. The judgment is cast against the whole world, all nations, and Judah in particular. For the people, there may have appeared a window of hope, a reprieve in the devastation wrought by Assyria, as this "tiger" from the north grew old and tired as empires do. But, the decline of Assyria only meant that the "bear" of Babylon could rear up and claw its way to the podium of power. The prophet saw in this the continuing judgment of God upon a superstitious people who "fill their master's house with violence and fraud" (1:9). Zephaniah proclaims in no uncertain terms that God is in charge throughout the unfolding events of history. It is God who brings judgment upon his people (1:4); it is God who will remove the judgment from the people (3:18). God is alive and active "in your midst" -- a notion repeated twice in the pericope (and echoed by a contemporary, Habakkuk 1:5).
In response to the practical atheism rampant on the streets ("The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill" 1:12), Zephaniah announces that after God's righteous judgment, there will yet again be a time for singing and rejoicing. In the anxious moments caused by empires swaggering across the landscape, there comes a word of hope. The Lord will champion the cause of his people, like "a warrior who gives victory" (3:17). What the prophet is describing so eloquently is not the cheap pabulum of advice in the face of adversity, "Don't worry; be happy!" It is the profound insight and necessary word to hear that God truly cares for his people. So much so, that God has already arrived at the song before the people can even voice it (3:17b, c). It is God who rejoices in his people and this is the source of the gracious events that are yet to come about from the hand of the Lord. Therefore, "Do not fear, O Zion" (3:16). Your rejoicing will soon rise up from the earth, but only in response to God's rejoicing that comes down from heaven.
The Psalmist also expresses well that confidence in the presence and promises and power of God in describing how God never sleeps and "will not let your foot be moved" (Psalm 121:3), and again by calling upon the angels "to guard you in all your ways ... lest you dash your foot against a stone" (Psalm 91:11-12). It is this prophetic and pastoral word that surrounds the anxious believer and can beckon even the atheist with a peace withstanding the changing currents of life. This is the word of the Lord with which Zephaniah begins and ends his work (1:1 and 3:20).
In 626 B.C., when Zephaniah was prophesying, young King Josiah discovered the Book of Deuteronomy and read it to the people, bringing about a brief response of repentance and reform. What the reforms of Josiah did in the days of Zephaniah, offering the people a glimpse of the righteousness of God, the coming Christ will do in a far more profound way, himself being the righteousness of God and the very song God will sing on the earth, for the earth, through the voice of Jesus. His foot was not moved, nor did he dash it against the stone of temptation. He perfectly revealed "the Lord ... in your midst" (3:15) and continues to give God's people a saving peace that an anxious world longs for.
Philippians 4:4-7
Being in prison is no easy task. Writing a cheerful letter from prison is a bit much! But, Paul knows how to do his time with grace and patience and joy, because he has a peace "which passes all understanding" (4:7). Even from behind bars, Paul is doing missionary work, spreading the spirit of the gospel. How can he do this?
Like a skilled illusionist, he has learned the art of where to be: namely, "in the Lord" (4:4), "in Christ Jesus" (4:7). The difference is that his art is not illusory, but spiritually substantial; it is not grounded in philosophical speculation or immanent theology, but in the historical happenings of Jesus crucified on the cross and risen from the tomb. This Jesus, who ascended to the Father after he accomplished what he came to accomplish, will come again soon. "The Lord is at hand" (4:5b). Therefore, even in prison one can rejoice. Even in suffering one can have forbearance. Even with anxiety dripping out of every pore, prayer can provide the way for peace to permeate everything with which one is concerned. The key is to be "in the Lord ... in Christ Jesus."
Positioning is all-important. Archimedes said, "Give me a point and I can move the world." He was explaining the principle of the fulcrum. Paul, in explaining the principle of peace, positions the petitioner "in" the one who, like Zephaniah's warrior, has conquered all that would cause anxiety within us: "sin, death, and the power of the devil" is the way Martin Luther would describe it. One can rejoice in the Lord, because he has already won the victory that sets us free to be children of God. Our rejoicing is not necessarily over current events, which often times are against us. Our rejoicing is over the accomplished fact of our salvation, for which we can give thanksgiving.
This is also the basis which Paul uses to entreat Euodia and Syntyche (4:2) to come to agreement in the Lord. Squabbles in the church can easily set people against one another, unless they both have a common ground on which to stand, in the Lord, to address their difference from a healthy perspective. Positioning is everything. When the heart and mind of two people are in Christ Jesus, it is easier to stand together to deal with matters that would otherwise have the power to divide.
Luke 3:7-18
The foreboding judgment that Zephaniah spoke of carries the same tune as that of John the Baptist. The seer John in the Book of Revelation picks up on the dissonant melody and describes seven bowls of wrath that are to be poured out. The Baptist even pictures Jesus implementing a harvest judgment in the end, when "the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire" (3:17). From one perspective, it may seem that the Bible is never finished talking about "the wrath to come" (3:7). From another perspective, it is true that the Bible never gives up talking about the call to repentance in preparation for the revelation of the goodness of God. In Zephaniah's day it would be seen in the restoration of the people; in John the Baptist's day it would be in the coming of the one "who is mightier than I" (3:16); in the Book of Revelation it will be finally seen in the consummation brought about when Christ returns in power and glory.
John the Baptist expressed his confidence that God is in charge and at work in the world of his day by reference to the stones, which God could use to raise up children of Abraham. There is nothing too little or too great for God to do. Even the inert matter of creation can be transformed by the living God to do his bidding. Then, John uses the metaphor of an axe "laid to the root of the trees" (3:9) in reference to the judgment that is at hand. The people only had to look around them to see the power of Rome rendering the olive shoots of Israel impotent.
John the Baptist offers some very practical advice for people who take seriously their lives in the presence of God. God wants "fruits that befit repentance" (3:8). For the concerned neighbor, that means to share with those less fortunate. For the tax collectors that means honesty instead of fraud (see Zephaniah 1:9) when it comes to collecting taxes. For the soldier it means to behave on duty and not to misuse (violence: see Zephaniah 1:9) the entrusted power given by the government. Deeds in daily life that could be characterized as good fruit are what God wants from those who strive to walk in godly ways.
In the doing of God's work, one should not expect an easy go of it. The prophet's reward is always around the corner. John had to face the wrath of Herod Antipas (one of the surviving sons of Herod the Great), tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. He is imprisoned and then beheaded. Jesus would face the scorn and ridicule of this same Herod the night of his execution. There is nothing mentioned about peace in this pericope; yet, when one looks at the lives of John and Jesus as a whole, it can be said that they bore the stress of their work well with an undergirding confidence that they were doing God's work. This was their integrity, which formed a solid footing for calm in the midst of the storm that brewed around them.
Application
Our American culture has donned the garb of practical atheism. In Zephaniah's day it was pressed flat and wrinkle free; God is detached from the affairs of the world to be of no practical value either for good or ill. God exists, indeed, but is not particularly present or active in matters pertaining to our life on earth. Today, practical atheism is woven with threads that make relative the very existence of God on the one hand and, on the other, make private God's place in the world, virtually stitching the role of one's relationship with God on the fringe of public apparel in our lives together.
The founding, civil documents of our states and nation build their perspectives and directives on the basis of God's sovereignty over the life of this land and its people. Yet, today we have radically misinterpreted the Jeffersonian phrase of a wall of separation between church and state so as to eliminate effectively from our schools and courts reference to the Judeo-Christian foundation of our country. The call to repentance needs to be extended not just to the individual hearts of people, but also to the soul of the nation. The prophets knew how to do this.
With prophetic eyes and ears, we need only attend to the news of the day to see the wrath of God visiting our country with the decay that is to be expected when a people lose their vision of their life with God. Then, with the boldness of the prophets, we need to declare the seasons of God's visitation upon us. There is the season of judgment and the season of mercy. No one will be exempt from the former, but only those who repent will experience the final intent of all God's activities with us. Zephaniah, with his very name, reveals God's heart in the matter. It is God's intention to provide mercy, to hide and protect the believer even from his own wrath.
No more beautiful expression of this has been penned than by Ignatius in his Anima Christi prayer: "Within thy wounds hide me" or, as a more contemporary rendering has it, "May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross." (See The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, David L. Flemming, S.J.) Thus, for the repentant, there can be a confident peace even in the season of wrath, because God's heart is ultimately set on exulting over his beloved. This creates a spirit of humility that Mary will soon express, as she contemplates the birth of Messiah from her womb (Luke 1:46-55).
This is a message to which Gen-Xers and Millennium Kids can relate. The shadow side of their experience creates a foil with which to appreciate the season of Advent and the meaning of Jesus. Gen-Xers are those who survived the abortion option, grew up as the children of divorce, and were latch-keyed while the parents worked. They hold a cynical attitude toward life in general, using sarcasm as a meaningful way of communicating. They feel disconnected and broken, living out their young adulthood in a rather fragmented tribal culture with no over-arching story that defines their story and gives them a place and a family.
Millennium Kids are subject to the issues of adulthood at an earlier and earlier age, which stresses the normal maturing process. They are living in a society in which the family has disintegrated. Even though they may be spiritually open, they are indifferent to Christianity and can easily be turned toward the occult.
How can we reach these generations with the gospel? Here are the youth of our world longing for a story that gives coherence to their lives and provides a reason to hope in a world that is collapsing around them. Sounds a lot like Israelite history. The voices from Scripture give us clues as to what to say and how to say it. Paul tells us that God's peace moves us beyond the particular moods of our day; it is a peace that passes all understanding. That peace will be found -- not in a proposition, not in a particular place to which one makes a pilgrimage, not in various self-discovery experiences, not in a self-generated defiance or affirmation against the appearance of reality ("It's the end of the world and I feel fine" are words from an REM song) -- but in the person of Jesus. Truth and its story come packaged not in media hype nor self-proclamation, but in the person of Jesus. Repentance, turning toward him, will lead the person into joy and peace.
Zephaniah's voice expresses the realism that is so important to the children of today. The medium and the message (a la Marshall McCluen) need to have a corresponding integrity and coherence about them that can stand the scrutiny of reason. The collapse of today's social order is clear enough; that this is the hand of God writing the next chapter of the on-going story of the people of God and the created order is a message that needs to be heralded loudly and clearly. The difficulty in hearing such a message is meliorated by the knowledge of God's ultimate intention and determination to rejoice over the beloved. This is what provides the peace "which passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) from a merely world-centered view. Just like we need patience to get through the weeks before Christmas until we can enjoy the family gathering, meals, and exchange of presents, so, too, we need patience (forbearance) as we wait for God to "gather the wheat into his granary" (Luke 3:17), a metaphor of hope, which is what the season of Advent is all about.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Our Old Testament text for the morning from the prophet Zephaniah invites us to a party. At this season of the year, we can call it a Christmas party, and Zephaniah tells us that right smack in the middle of this party, there is God -- celebrating. "The Lord, your God, is in your midst," reads our text, and what is he doing? He is rejoicing over us with gladness. He is singing. The Lord God Almighty is here in our company, joining in our songs and celebrations at this Christmastime!
That is simply a fantastic picture of the Lord that the prophet Zephaniah has given to us. And yet, if you stop to think about it, this God of the Bible has always loved a good party. Do you remember when the Son of God attended that wedding at Cana and provided more wine for the guests when the host had run out of drink? Do you recall how he said that the Father would celebrate when that prodigal son returned to his home -- with a feast of a fatted calf and merry making? Or do you remember how our Lord Jesus said that God celebrates over sinners returned to him -- with parties to which all the neighbors are invited, and even with the angels in heaven rejoicing (Luke 15:6-7). God loves happy parties. The prophet Jeremiah even says that when the Kingdom of God comes there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness (Jeremiah 33:11). We often think that things religious have to do with solemnity and sober piety. But no. The Old and New Testaments say that the deepest religion has to do with festivities and rejoicing. And the picture that Zephaniah gives us in our text for the morning portrays the Lord God celebrating at a party.
We well might ask, therefore, what is the cause for the Lord's celebration, and that takes us back into what has gone before in the prophecies of Zephaniah. The book comes to us from about 640 to 609 B.C., so Zephaniah's ministry overlaps some with that of Jeremiah. That was not a happy time in the life of Judah. The country suffered under the lingering effects of the evil reign of King Manasseh, who engaged in idolatry, human sacrifice, and the persecution of the prophets. After Manasseh's son was murdered, King Josiah tried to instigate a widespread reform in Judah, but the reform did not take, and when Jehoiakim ascended to the throne, conditions were as bad as ever. Zephaniah portrays those conditions in the preceding chapters of his book.
The people of Judah completely lost sight of any working and presence of God in their midst, Zephaniah says. They were heard to say, "The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill" (Zephaniah 1:12) -- in other words, they thought God would do nothing. So the people of Jerusalem did not listen to any correction of their ways (3:2), and the result was, preaches Zephaniah, that "her officials within her are roaring lions;/ her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning./ Her prophets are wanton, faithless men;/ her priests profane what is sacred,/ they do violence to the law" (3:3-4).
Over-against the Judeans' belief that God would do nothing about their sin, however, Zephaniah announces that the Lord is coming on the Day of the Lord to issue his final judgment on the earth, and to destroy not only Jerusalem and Judah, but his enemies throughout the world. "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," says the Lord (1:2). The Lord God is a Mighty Man of War in Zephaniah's burning book, and he is coming on the final Day to do away with all who have opposed him. He has uttered his war cry (1:14), and he has turned against his people who have ignored and turned against him.
Have you ever stopped to think about that -- that God declares war against us for our sin? That is a frequent announcement by the prophets (Amos 5:18-20; Isaiah 2:6-22; Ezekiel 7:5-27; Joel 1:15; 2:1-11; Malachi 4:5), and they mean it to be taken very seriously, for the divine Warrior has the power to destroy everything that he has created. "I kill and I make alive," God declares, "... and there is none that can deliver out of my hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39).
I wonder if that is not what we all vaguely realize at every Christmastime and if that is not what drives us to seek out a church, even when some of us have not come very frequently at other times of the year. Do we not more or less deeply realize that our lives finally are in the hands of God, that we really have not and cannot find rescue in ourselves or the things of this world, and that we do in fact need a Savior whose coming means good tidings for all people?
Our passage for the morning brings us those happy tidings. Despite the burning fury of the Lord that Zephaniah portrays, and despite the frightful warfare that God declares against all sin and evil, Zephaniah peers on into the future, and in our text, beyond the final judgment, the prophet foretells salvation and the peace of God. There will come a time, the prophet proclaims, when God will cleanse out from his people the proud and haughty who have rebelled against him (3:11), and there will be left "a people humble and lowly" who seek their refuge in God, who "do no wrong and utter no lies" (3:12-13).
And why will that time come? Because God is merciful. Certainly the people of Judah and Jerusalem could not correct and transform their own lives. They had already been through one reform period under Josiah, and they were no better than before. But nevertheless, God in his mercy promises to cleanse their society and their ways until they seek their refuge in him alone and do no wrong. And we're very much like those Judeans, aren't we? We keep talking about the renewal of the church in our time, and somehow no transformation takes place. We vow to live more faithful lives, and yet follow our same old sinful patterns. And yet, God promises us too, in Zephaniah, his cleansing and his transformation, so that he becomes the King, the Ruler of all our thoughts and deeds.
And when God so transforms us, you see, then he will take away his judgments against us, as our text says (v. 15). We will need not fear any more his wrath and his condemnation, not even on that final Day of the Lord when he comes to judge the earth. Indeed, the Hebrew of verse 17d in our text even says that his war cry against us will be stilled. It reads, "He will hold his peace in his love." And instead of warring against us, he will celebrate our salvation with us, rejoicing over us with gladness and exultation in that wonderful party that our prophet pictures.
But it is a Christmas party, as we have said. For when Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem, God fulfills Zephaniah's prophecy. Rather than war against us for our sin or condemn us in that final day of judgment, God in his love sends us his Son to transform our lives. It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, working in us, that can make us into new creatures, humble, faithful, good in the sight of our God. It is because of the death and resurrection of his Son that God's warfare against us is stilled and our sin is forgiven. And it is by God's gift of that Son that the Day of the Lord, the final judgment, will mean for us not death, but life eternal and very great rejoicing. Indeed, on that final day there will be a celebration like we cannot imagine, with all the saints shouting out their joy and the stars of heaven singing together. It's going to be a grand party, friends. But I think we can anticipate it a little right now. For Christ has come. The Lord is in our midst. The Christmas party has started. Let's sing and rejoice and join in the celebration.
