December 18
Zephaniah 3.14-20
14 Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 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.
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.
It’s time for singing. We gather in celebrations. That is what we do as we hit this point in December. We end the year with a few times and places to get together with family and friends. Singing carols and trading gifts. Rejoicing in the people we have around us. Praise on Sundays, every day, as we see the grace of God as we see the hope that is restored, the peace that is begun, the joy that is stirring in us, the love that has been given to us. We sit in a season that is marked by celebrations.
I won’t get into the Hebrew grammar lesson for us all, except to say that the verb tenses are saying that this is all actions that begin and continue into the future indefinitely. Not a time bound celebration. Not time bound actions of God in removal of burden, rescuing the lame, gathering exiles, and so much more. All things that begin and keep happening. That is the type of celebrating that is called for at the beginning with the singing and rejoicing. Start now, and keep it going, forever. It is the constant state of being gathered by God.
I sometimes wonder how we even get to the point of such celebration when all is not right in life. The world at large or personal lives. How do we have joy now when life doesn’t seem joyful? And we see that Zephaniah writes this prophetic text of joy while Israel is still in exile. The promise of the gathering of exiles and singing in Jerusalem is coming. Sing now while it is still coming.
Life continued to be tough. It will now. But we see that the certainty of what still takes place brings us to praise anyway. Rejoice at the coming of Jesus as Christmas. And rejoice even more that he comes once more to be with us forever. Still gathering us and many others. Still taking in the lame and the broken. And keeping us all forever. Till he returns and far beyond. We rejoice that he has come, he will come again, and we are his forever.
Song – Rejoice Greatly
Prayer
Lord God Almighty, King of glory and love eternal, you are worthy at all times to receive adoration, praise, and blessing; we praise you now for sending your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, for whom our hearts wait, and to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, be honour and dominion, now and for ever. Amen.