14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
19 Behold, at that time I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord.
I was struck the other day that the recent school shooting was the third story on the news. Have we just gotten used to children killing each other in school so we want to hear about the latest COVID variant first? I do not know what goes into the editorial decisions about what are lead and what are second stories in network newsroom, but it seemed significant to me.
Zephaniah, a prophet we hear from twice in the 156 Sundays of the three-year lectionary series, wants us to imagine something today. God the King is in our midst, and we will never again fear evil. I am sure that sense of security feels far away from the students and their families at the school where the shooting took place. I am not sure they will ever feel safe in school. A gunman has robbed them of that. But that sense of insecurity does not only affect them. My own neighborhood has gotten a little seedy. We are more careful about locking doors these days. Turn on the news and it will something else which can make us afraid. Is Zephaniah just out of touch? I don’t think so. In fact, I think he is right on message for Advent. His people faced a dire situation as well. The glory of Israel had long passed and now they were a much-diminished state, facing down the spear point of the mighty Babylonian empire. Things did not look good for little Judah. But Zephaniah exhorts his people to rejoice because God is at work, doing His Godly work of clearing away the enemies, establishing righteousness and calming with his love. He will bring all the oppressors to justice and His people will dwell in safety and without fear. That is faith – a confidence in something not seen. That is Advent – looking forward to what God has promised us. Your Advent joy in these dark days is a witness to that promise. Light your candles. Flick on the lights outside your house. Raise a glass of eggnog and share a bit of cheer. You are not faking it. You are counting on Him.