Advent 3. Zephaniah.
In the original Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Stave 1), Ebenezer
Scrooge says 'I live in a world of fools! . If I could work my will, every
idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled in
his own Christmas pudding and burned with a stake of holly thru his heart (a
penalty for murderers). Bah! Humbug!'
All Scrooge saw around him was selfishness, joylessness, exploited
people, and despair. He had fallen in love with things. And so he had no
joy.
It's just a guess, but 9 out of 10 folks in the USA celebrate some sort
of Christmas: lights, presents, foods, and friends. Many merchants have
been pushing Christmas since August. Amazon, Wal-Mart, and other retailers
make the lion's share of their sales the last 2 months of the year, so much
so that the day they turn a profit, or "get out of the red" is the day after
Thanksgiving, and so since the business is in the black, so it is joyfully
called "Black Friday".
But when you look around, do you see joyful faces? Or do you see folks
in a rush, frowning at clerks, hear the growling at clerks, and feel the
shove of someone wanting a bargain? Even in Iowa, we experience around us a
grumpy Christmas. Genuine joy is rare.
Those who do not have faith in Christ often use people and love things
rather than the other way around. We, as God's people can be sucked in by
the world to experience the fatigue and disappointment of material joy with
unfulfilled wishes, cynical greetings, and a lonely celebration.
The words of the prophet Zephaniah (God will hide) were spoken 7
centuries before Christ (640-609BC), during the time of Jeremiah and a
generation before Babylon's army wiped Israel off the map. It was a time
very much like ours with shallow joy.
Zephaniah experienced the cruelty of the political class, treachery of
the rich families, increasing violence, lack of respect for life, and a
spiritual syncretism where people (and even the priests! 1:4-5) mixed and
combined different ideas, feelings, practices, & religions into their own
personal blend. It made Zephaniah very sad; and God very angry.
All around him, the people refused to repent. They felt they were GOD's
people, and whoever preached that God was angry at them MUST be a lying and
had to be gotten rid of. They hated their 'pastor' for calling them to
repent - to change their hearts and lives, then follow God and seek Him
alone. (1:6). SURELY God would not do anything to harm them (1:12).
But nothing the people had would help them (1:7-18). The many
blessings God had given them had piled up and become roadblocks to their
journey of faith.
Zephaniah warned of the days of judgment for Judah's enemies, and for
Judah. If they would not seek the LORD and obey His commands in humility,
they would not be hidden from His wrath (2:3). But God's people would not
listen or accept corrections; they did not trust the Lord or draw near Him
(3:1-8). Their refusal then to turn away from their godlessness, self-made
rules, and joy in cruelty had guaranteed their destruction.
God was bringing His Law to them and on them so they would repent. He
warned them to believe and to change. He did not want to show His wrath
toward them. But God is holy and just. When people will not repent, God
often brings war, hardship, disease, and trouble into personal lives (or
even nations). Even God's people need to be reminded of His anger against
sin. Better to suffer a while then turn back to faith in God than to NOT
turn and suffer eternal hell.
The people of Zephaniah's era got the 2 minute warning. They hadn't
scored. They would lose. They refused to change their game plan.
That time was much like the world the fictional Scrooge lived in; and,
in some ways, like ours. This is why our Collect says, "We implore You to
hear our prayers and lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious
visitation."
Only God alone, in the power of His Holy Spirit and working in His
Word, can bring about the changes and transformation we desperately need for
His genuine joy.
That is where we pick up the text for today. Zephaniah records great
Gospel & reasons to rejoice. God promises to take away our condemnations
and judgments, and clear away our enemies. But not just the enemies of
nations and people who make life miserable. God was coming to conquer the
eternal enemies of sin and death and hell.
As verse 17 says, God would be in their midst. He would take on flesh
and dwell among them. God tells us thru Zephaniah that we should not be
afraid. We should rejoice in Him always!
As God promised, so He did. The Son of God left heaven to dwell in His
creation as we celebrate in Advent (and year round.) 'He was born of a
woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law" as Galatians 4:4-5
says. This is the cause of our joy and celebration at Christmas - not
presents & parties & people.
The joy God gives us in Advent as we wait for the Second Christmas is
the joy that can't be destroyed by crass commercialism, rising or falling
economies, political or monetary fortunes, false teachers, or even
modern-day Scrooges. In fact, nothing in all creation, even death itself,
can separate us from the LORD Who rules the world for the good of our faith.
In the power of that joy, we willingly recognize our sins and we desire
to turn away from them. As Luther says explaining the Lord's Prayer, we
keep His Name as holy as we can - teaching it in truth and purity, and as
children of God, lead holy lives according to it. here in time & also in
eternity . as He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith all our
lives.
John the Baptizer was having trouble with that. For the good of my
faith, I'm in prison? He could not eye-witness what Christ was doing, but
he could ear-witness: that is, his disciples could report.
We are ear-witnesses. We have heard God's Word to us in Holy
Scripture. Even when we feel as low as John in prison, we can confess the
Man Who healed the blind, made the lame walk, cleansed lepers, gave the deaf
hearing, raised the dead, and preached the Good News DID come.
We confess our faith and proclaim His coming with our words, AND when
receiving His body and blood which was shed to pay for our freedom from sin.
"As often as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim His death until
He Returns."
We have a peace and a joy which is not based on how others celebrate
the holidays. It is based on the historical event of the Son of God coming
in the flesh to make us right with God on the cross. God works in our
lives, both on the individual and national levels, to keep us in that joyful
faith. Sometimes, that means wealth and health; but it can also mean
poverty and illness. In any case, God is working to turn us from all
unbelief so we will trust in Him alone.
God grant us the faith to sing and shout with Zephaniah, to rejoice and
exalt with all our heart: in Christ Jesus Who came to save us. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
I've not posted in a while. I have not repaired no bad grammar, neither.
Thank you, Lyle D. Mueller, for ideas (especially the Dickens quote) from
your 1986 CP sermon - but I don't think he would recognize the sermon
itself, Eric, if that's your soup question.
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