the Third Sunday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
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.
Isaiah 12:2-6
2 Look, God is my deliverer! I will trust in him and not fear. For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” 3 Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of deliverance. 4 At that time you will say: “Praise the Lord! Ask him for help! Publicize his mighty acts among the nations. Make it known that he is unique. 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things; let this be known throughout the earth. 6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel acts mightily among you!”
Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Luke 3:7-18
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
NIV
The Lord our God Delights in Us
Sharon Schultz is a long-time pastor at Eyebrow Mennonite Church, a small, rural church in Eyebrow, Saskatchewan. She is married to Duane, who is a truck driver, and they have 3 adult children and a son-in-law; and a Siamese cat, Louis! Her hobbies include singing, playing the piano and reading. Sharon’s passion is for people to know and grow in the hope and joy of new life in Jesus Christ.
I grew up singing and have always loved to sing. We sang together as a family during evening devotions. My first memories of singing are from when I was 4 years old and my sister was 3. My dad was pastor at a little country church and he wanted Janine and me to sing together for Father’s Day. When the time came, Janine started to cry and chickened out, so I sat on the steps of the platform and sang by myself! As we got a little older, Janine and I sang together for many years, until we got married and life became busy as we had families of our own. I sang in the choir at high school and sang in the Messiah with a large choir and orchestra when I was in College. It was an amazing experience! I love to sing with our congregation at church. One of my spiritual practices is to play the piano and sing, all by myself, in our empty church. Music speaks to my heart; it lifts my spirit; and it brings joy and peace to my soul. When I sing and worship the Lord I feel close and connected to God. I often wake up in the morning with a song singing in my mind. The Lord speaks to me through music. I can’t imagine life without singing and without music.
Our reading today from the book of Zephaniah speaks of judgement and it speaks of singing. The Prophet Zephaniah spoke the word of the Lord to the people of Judah during the reign of King Josiah. The people do not trust in the Lord (1:15) and they no longer draw near to their God (3:2). They are arrogant and proud (3:4). They have broken their covenant with God and are worshipping other gods.
Zephaniah speaks of the Day of the Lord, a coming day of judgment, distress and ruin; a day of weeping and wailing, and destruction. The Day of the Lord refers to the day when Judah will be taken into captivity by Babylon. But it also refers to the eventual judgement and restoration of all humanity in the future. God’s judgement is not only coming upon Judah, but upon all the nations of the world. Zephaniah calls all people, but especially Judah, back to worship the Lord their God.
Yet Zephaniah’s words are not all gloom and doom. If people will call on the name of the Lord; if they seek the Lord, and leave behind their evil ways; if they repent, and seek righteousness and humility, God will forgive and restore (3:2). They will live in peace again and not be afraid (3:13). And that’s worth -- singing about! So, Zephaniah says: Sing! Shout! Be glad and rejoice, people of God! (3:14) Don’t be afraid. The Lord is with you! He is mighty to save! (3:17) Such amazing words for them to hear and such amazing words for us to hear.
But I wonder, why sing? What is it about singing that makes it an appropriate response? An automatic response to God’s saving actions? Singing stirs us emotionally. Music touches us deeply in the inner part of our being. Husbands and wives, lovers, are physically present with each other. They can express, in words and actions, their love and devotion to each other. They connect emotionally. Singing is a way we can connect emotionally with our God! Singing can powerfully move us. It makes our feet dance; it causes us to cry, to respond, to connect with God within the deepest parts of our being. We can feel God’s presence and can respond back to Him. Singing also unites us as people of God. It draws us together as we praise God together in one voice. There’s a reason scripture tells us over and over again to “Sing to the Lord” (Psalm 13:5,6)!
But we are not the only ones singing. God sings too! God sings and rejoices over us! We get an incredible glimpse into the very heart of God as Zephaniah declares, “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, and He will rejoice over you with singing” (3:17).
Stop and read those words again. They thrill me! God loves us! He delights in us! God rejoices over us with “joyful songs”! I don’t often think of God this way. Zephaniah’s words give us a picture of a God who is waiting for us to turn to Him, who is longing for us to come to Him, who delights in who we are, and is delighted to be with us. We sense, deep in our inner being, we are with our God who knows us intimately and loves us deeply and completely. Our God IS mighty to save: despite our failures and limitations; despite the frustrating times in which we live; despite the turmoil in the world around us. Oh, how we need to hear that today. In the midst of our failures, frustrations and confusion, in the midst of our waiting and longing for salvation and relief, God invites us to sing and rejoice, and He sings and rejoices over us! What do you hear God singing over you?
On this third Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of joy. We anticipate the joyous celebration of Christmas and Jesus’ birth. May we be filled with the joy of the Lord, and rejoice and sing. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with us. We do not need to fear any harm. He is able to gather in those who mourn; He will save the weak and helpless. He will gather us together and bring us home. So rejoice and sing with all your heart!
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