Rejoice in the Lord always.

Transcription

1 1 Scripture: Isaiah 12:2-6 Zephaniah 3:14-20 Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. O Lord, you were born! ---- by Ann Weems Each year about this time I try to be sophisticated and pretend I understand the bored expressions relating to the Christmas spirit. I nod when they say Put the Christ back in Christmas. I say yes --- yes when they shout Commercial and Hectic, hectic, hectic. After all, I m getting older, and I ve heard it said, Christmas is for children. But somehow a fa-la-la keeps creeping out So I ll say it: I love Christmas tinsel and angel voices that come from the beds upstairs. And I say three cheers for Santa Claus and the Salvation Army bucket and all the wrappings and festivities and special warm feelings. I say it is good, giving, praising, celebrating. So hooray for Christmas trees and candlelight and the good old church pageant. Hooray for shepherd boys who forget their lines and Wise Men whose beards fall off

2 2 and a Mary who giggles. O Lord you were born! O Lord you were born! And that breaks upon my ordered life like bugles blaring, and I sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing in the most unlikely places. You were born --- and I will celebrate. I rejoice for the carnival of Christmas! I clap for the pajama-clad cherubs and the Christmas cards jammed in the mail slot. I o-o-o-oh for the turkey and ah-h-h-h-h for the Christmas pudding and thank God for the alleluias I see in the faces of people I don t know and yet know very well. (and this last part is what matters most for today) O Lord --- there just aren t enough choirboys to sing what I feel. There aren t enough trumpets to blow. O Lord, I want bells to peal! I want to dance in the streets of Bethlehem! I want to sing with the heavenly host! For unto us a Son was given and he was called God with Us. For those of us who believe, the whole world is decorated in love. There s a lot going on this poem especially the last 10 or so lines And on a day when we pay attention to Joy and rejoicing ---- we might consider changing the very last lines to

3 3 For those of us who believe, the whole world is decorated with joy. For those of us who believe, the whole world is decorated with joy. All of our readings today focus on the reality of Joy and rejoicing. Rejoice in the Lord always I will say it again Rejoice! ---- Philippians. And as we just sang together --- this can go on and on --- and for good reason And again I say rejoice ---- rejoice --- rejoice and again I say rejoice! when we have true joy it s uncontainable ---- it just pours and radiates out of us. Isaiah today verse With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And then skipping ahead to verse Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you. And lastly ---- and most prominent and powerful of all Zephaniah ---- But first the final part of Weems poem again O Lord --- there just aren t enough choirboys to sing what I feel. There aren t enough trumpets to blow. O Lord, I want bells to peal! I want to dance in the streets of Bethlehem! I want to sing with the heavenly host! This outpouring of joy is precisely what our reading from Zephaniah is all about. The uncontrollable --- unrestrained --- gushing out burst of God s love.

4 4 Words just aren t enough for the joy and the rejoicing the celebration practically drips off the pages in Zephaniah today words don t do it justice. Picking it up at verse Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! 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. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 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. If we listen carefully we discover that this is not just about people rejoicing it s about God rejoicing. Listen again to the second half of verse He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. God is the one rejoicing. He is rejoicing over us with singing. Imagine God rejoicing over us with singing. Imagine God taking great delight in us.

5 5 Us ---- fallen --- messy ---- trudging along as we are. I will give them praise and honour. I will give you honour and praise verses 19 and 20. Joy and love and honour and praise are just pouring out of God. And all His love ---- and honour ---- and praise are directed to us. It s as though God is giddy about us all bubbly and outpouring. And this is all the more powerful because the whole beginning of the book of Zephaniah is pretty tough stuff. Zephaniah is acutely aware of the corruption and injustice and oppression and poor behaviour of God s people ---- he speaks repeatedly and pointedly about divine correction. There is nothing soft or gracious about the words ---- attitude ---- or divine direction that is the first 3 and a half chapters of Zephaniah. There is a crisis here as is the case in all of our passages today. Trouble and sorrow are the context of all 3 of our readings this morning. The appalling judgment of God is the focus of Zephaniah up until we get to our passage. Just before our passage from Isaiah --- verse 1 from chapter we see the anger of God. Paul is in prison when he writes Philippians. Crisis ---- crisis crisis ---- is the backdrop for all 3 of our readings. And yet their themes are joy. How do we get from crisis to joy?

6 6 How do we get from acute divine anger ---- to divine joy? The contexts of all of our passages today are deeply troublesome and yet in them we also have the greatest expressions of joy in the whole of scripture. One commentator sheds light on this tension brilliantly saying --- A command to rejoice is --- after all necessary only when sorrow is present. A command to rejoice is --- after all necessary only when sorrow is present. And to be clear Joy and rejoicing are a far cry from happiness. These passages are not about happiness in the face of disturbing and troubling circumstances and discomfort they are about joy and rejoicing regardless of the circumstances. Joy is the quiet --- confident assurance of God s love and presence in our lives --- no matter what happens. Joy is the assurance that no matter what --- no matter how ugly things may get ---- God is present. Happiness depends on happenings. Joy depends on Christ. Happiness depends on happenings. Joy depends on Christ. As Christians we are people of joy --- far more than just a people of happiness. It s certainly not that joy and happiness are mutually exclusive because they aren t ---- very often they overlap but joy is a far greater reality and truth than happiness ever is.

7 7 Joy is after all a fruit of the Spirit ---- see Galatians 5. Happiness is a feeling --- joy is a disposition. Feelings cannot be commanded ---- not even by prophets or apostles. Joy on the other hand is an orientation. And an orientation can be commanded. Happiness and joy often overlap ---- and happiness of any sort is to be treasured ---- but it is nowhere close to joy. Joy comes from trust in the promises of God. Joy is an intentional and disciplined choice --- an orientation to the promises of God. And joy comes from an orientation to God especially in tough and challenging and uncomfortable times. That s what these 3 passages drive home. The circumstances --- the happenings --- the conditions in all 3 of these passages are far from ideal and peaceful. And yet all 3 of them speak of Joy. It s true A command to rejoice is --- after all necessary only when sorrow is first present. Advent 3 is a transition point it s quite a bit different from the first 2 weeks. Even the candle is a different colour --- pink instead of blue. Today is a transition point ---- last week with John and Malachi the focus was on crisis and cleansing and purifying --- and making straight and smooth ---- hammering out and pounding.

8 8 Today the emphasis is rejoicing. And knowing that despite the hard work ---- despite the pounding and hammering out despite the crisis we have joy in our hearts and we rejoice --- we let it out --- we share it. Not because of the circumstances we find ourselves in not because everything is going according to plan --- not because we re necessarily happy about things ---- but because we know the goodness of God because we know the very presence of God. The Emmanuel God with us ---- even in ---- especially in the not so good times. Christians are not just happy people although we re that too. We are joyful people. It s not by mistake that our sign for Advent out front of the church is Joy it s intentional. Joy is forever our Advent message. Joy not because everything is always smooth and perfect and wonderful Joy because no matter what God is with us Emmanuel. Our sign is Joy because we are His and He is ours --- and nothing can ever change this. Rejoice in the Lord always --- again I say rejoice Paul says ---- not because he s at a wonderful party or having the time of his life. Rejoice in the Lord always --- again I say rejoice. --- comes out of a context of pain --- and discomfort ---- grim circumstances --- imprisonment. And then there is Zephaniah today He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

9 9 This too ---- comes not from a context of peace and well being but from a crisis ---- a crisis of Divine judgment. What is cause for celebration for the apostle and for the prophet have nothing to do with immediate circumstances. What is cause for celebration is the very character of God --- the one who is ever present ---- even --- and especially in the challenges --- sorrow and uncomfortableness of life. Joy comes not from who we are ---- but from whose we are. Joy comes not from where we are --- but where we will one day be. Today we move from crisis from messiness ---- from refiner s fire --- and purification --- from making smooth the rough and leveling off the uneven to joy and rejoicing. Today we look away from circumstances that are dependant on human behaviour and turn instead to fulfilled promises ---- and salvation rescue from sin and ugliness. Today s reading from Zephaniah carries with it the acute memory of suffering ----and judgment ---- and unfortunate behaviour and circumstances and instead points to the fulfillment of God s promises and the sheer and utter Joy that this brings with it. God recognizes the suffering ---- God knows all about the uncomfortabeleness --- God is acutely aware of the messiness that is human nature and He knows it can be no other. That s why He sends Jesus. And the joy in our hearts comes from the recognition of God s presence among and within us --- not what is outside and happening around us. Emmanuel is God with us in the midst of this sometimes mess we call life.

10 10 We are not called to be joyful because of this ---- worldly things ---- worldly relations and happenings. Our joy is ultimately about divine relationship. Joy comes from God s continued presence in the world. Rejoice in the Lord always --- and again I say rejoice. And it s rejoice and its O Lord --- there just aren t enough choirboys to sing what I feel. There aren t enough trumpets to blow. O Lord, I want bells to peal! I want to dance in the streets of Bethlehem! I want to sing with the heavenly host! Precisely because it s For unto us a Son was given and he was called God with Us. It s rejoice --- even from a jail cell ---- Philippians. It s rejoice even in the middle of a crisis --- God s judgment and God s anger even --- see Isaiah and especially Zephaniah. It s rejoice precisely because it s God with us. It s rejoice because of Christ --- God s promise fulfilled. When we re bogged down in the challenges of life --- like Paul was like Zephaniah was. We find our joy in the reality that all will be made well once again ---- and the very fact that all will be made well once again not because of us --- but because of God and His character. Paul finds joy ---- because he has faith and doesn t give up.

11 11 Zephaniah calls for joy because of the character and nature of God who is always with us. He calls for Joy precisely because he knows that ultimately God s great love story with humanity will come to its completion. Things were not going to go very well for Jesus His was a life that was mostly about Him being hated and looked down upon. He mostly confused people and frustrated them. His was a lifetime of telling people to do things differently ---- and nobody really listened. Crowds followed Him not necessarily because they thought he was of God they weren t sure --- he was controversial --- there was something about Him that was different and they wanted to try to figure it out at best --- and snuff it out at worst. His was a life full of testing that ended in betrayal and embarrassing execution --- from a worldly perspective anyway. The Joy of His life comes not because of the accumulation of the circumstances of His life --- because His life was a very very difficult life. He was poorly treated most people were totally confused by Him and didn t know what to make of Him. The Joy of His life is all because of what God accomplished ultimately in and through Him the very character of God was evident in Him --- even if it wasn t obvious to too many at the time. To understand Christ we have to look deep into the heart of His character. The heart of the character of Christ is what brings us Joy precisely because this is what God has promised us precisely because this is what God provides to us.

12 12 The end of oppression --- amidst oppression ---- the end of suffering amidst suffering the end of pain amidst pain. It s God with us right now ---- and yet it s also God choosing not to resolve things right away. Jesus didn t resolve things right away at the cross he did resolve things eternally but not immediately after the cross people got and get sick. His salvation --- and resolution --- and reconciliation is eternal --- but not immediate. We gush with Joy not because of how things are. We overflow with Joy because we know how they will be --- and the truth of that which is not quite yet. In Jesus we got a brief glimpse of all this is to come and so as we think of Him coming again --- we are reminded of that brief glimpse and we are reminded that the next time it won t just be a glimpse but it will be eternity. And that is where we find out Joy. Not in the new TV or new IPad --- or Playstation or WII U. Not in the new necklace --- ring car or clothing as fun as these things can be. Our Joy comes in that which we have only ever but had a glimpse of. The character and nature and will of God that will one day burst onto the scene once again ---- only this time forever and not just 30 or so years in one man s life. That s Joy --- knowing what is coming. And in the mean time ---- we wait --- and we prepare and we do our best.

13 13 And in the meantime we wait --- and we prepare ---- and we do our best. And in the meantime we wait --- and we prepare ---- and we do our best. And in the meantime we rejoice --- rejoice --- rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Amen.