Sermon on Zephaniah 3:14-20 Advent 3C December 15 th /16 th, Grace and peace to you all from our God and Father and the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Transcription

1 Sermon on Zephaniah 3:14-20 Advent 3C December 15 th /16 th, 2012 Grace and peace to you all from our God and Father and the Lord Jesus. Amen. The last two weeks in Advent we ve talked about the Promises of God and the importance of Preparing for the coming of God in this world. This week we turn again to another p word, this time, Proclaim. And again, we ll be focusing on our OT reading. Something we see going on in our passage from Zephaniah is that we see and hear God proclaiming, through Zephaniahs mouth, this new future that God has in store for his people. And when God goes on doing something like this, we can either think that it s too good to be true, or just a bunch of baloney. But this is something our God must do over and over again God must proclaim into our ears, impress in our minds, and comfort our weary hearts because God knows how skeptical or how full of doubts we can be. So what must God do then is proclaim, over, and over, and over, and over again and again and again, the message of salvation to all who would believe. I ve got a quick question for you: How many of you like reruns? Maybe some of you like to watch those old reruns of your favorite show from years back to see familiar faces like William Shatner if you were a Trekkie, Dick Clark, Dick VanDyke, Bob Barker, or Lawrence Welk. Or if you re around my age, you remember some of those good old shows from the early 90 s like Boy Meets World, or Family Matters with Steve Erkel, or Family Matters (I loved this one because I was smitten with Stephanie Tanner), or even Home Improvement. When I was watching those shows, shows like Giligan s Island and the Brady Bunch were the ever present reruns from the good ol days. Whatever show or whatever decade you think had the best television, whenever we watch some of those programs we are reminded of our youth, we are reminded about how things once were and how simpler life was, basically when we watch shows 1

2 like that we get all nostalgic and perhaps a bit sad too since so much has changed it doesn t matter if you grew up in the 50 s, or 60 s, or 70 s, or 80 s, or like me in the 90 s; a lot has changed. The prophet Zephaniah, who preached around the same time as Jeremiah, in the 600 s B.C., was kind of like a rerun TV show, but his was one that no one wanted to watch. In the beginning of his book, the LORD tapped him on the shoulder to do two things to proclaim and warn Jerusalem that they were soon going to be judged for their sins and unfaithfulness to God; something God s people were used to hearing over and over but still turned a deaf ear to. And his other job was to replay the same message every prophet did that even though you are unfaithful to God, God will forgive you if you turn back to him. And not only that, but there was a sequel to God s unfolding plan of salvation in the world, a sequel that had to be proclaimed over and over again. The LORD speaks through Zephaniah and says, Do no fear The LORD is with you I will rejoice over you I will renew my love to you I will sing to you I will get rid of your oppressors I will bring you home I will lift you up I will restore your fortunes. So along with warning God s people, Zephaniah also comforts God s people by proclaiming the good news of God s sovereign care and that God will not abandon them. One of the things we can notice when we watch reruns, and one of the things we can notice when we listen to God s warnings and promises being proclaimed, is that we can t get enough of them. Just like how a good rerun warms our hearts, a good rerun also is a reminder of how things once were, but also those reruns are reminders of how broken we are too. Similarly, God s threats of judgment and God s promises proclaim that not only is there something to be mourned about the 2

3 past, but there is something even more profound and beautiful in the future that God has in store for us. Both of those need to be repeated over and over again our past so we don t forget who we were and where we ve gone wrong; and also our future so we don t forget who s we are, to who we belong to come what may, so that we don t forget that God is in ultimate control of human history and even more specifically, that God is in ultimate control of our lives and our future. The big problem we have and the big danger we can fall into is that we stop looking to the future that God wants, wills, and intends for us his people. The people of Israel fell into this trap over and over again they thought that just because God was their God, they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it. And if you know your Bible and history, you ll know that they didn t get away with it and were judge harshly by God. The same applies to us, the church, the new people of Israel. In Romans 11, St. Paul teaches the Gentiles, the non-jews of the church with these words: They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. To apply what the LORD is proclaiming through Zephaniah to us today, there are few things to take into consideration, to pray about, and think about how respond both as individuals and collectively as the church. In the Book of Proverbs we read, Where there is no vision/revelation/divine guidance, the people perish What God provides over and over again are visions and divine guidance for the future. How so? Well, for one thing, we don t need to bring heaven down to earth, God will do that Himself. Another thing to remember is that 3

4 eternity is a gift, not to be earned, but something that is graciously given so for those who cling and trust in God, eternal life and living in the presence of God should never be in question. However, since we have all of these promises proclaimed to us by God through prophets, through preachers, the question that falls onto us is How will we respond? After every show that you loved was canceled or discontinued, those actors and personalities had to have a plan for the future unless they wanted to twiddle their thumbs hoping for something to drop in their lap. The same goes for us. As God s children, how do we respond to the future God has in store for us? How do we respond as a church, as God s people? How do we respond individually to the assured future that is ultimately in God s hands? The LORD had to proclaim a vision for God s people through Zephaniah that inspired hope and faithful witness to God s love and care. John the Baptist had to do the same. And so, how should we respond as God s light and salt in the world and community around us? If there s one thing that all people need is hope, and hope placed in the right place, and placed in God. We only need to turn the TV on tonight, not to watch reruns of our favorite nostalgic show, but to see how empty and devoid this world is of hope. Look at the tragedy that happened yesterday in Newton, Connecticut how is that community going to respond to those in need? Or for us too, how do we respond to this atrocity bearing a message of hope and God s love? Or if we look at the people in our own community, how do we bring hope to the hopeless, how do we bring hope to those suffering, how do we bring hope to those struggling with depression, how do we bring hope into the lives of those who have no family or friends this holiday season, how do we proclaim that same message of hope that has been proclaimed over and over by people like Zephaniah and John the Baptist hope that finds its source and strength in the only one who can promise hope God himself? 4

5 As we all know from experience, we need something to have hope in. Without hope, we are lost. And without hope in the one who can bring hope, we are lost. We can look to the past and learn a lot, but we need to also look to the future where God has promised and will bring and break open an entirely new way to live, a new existence, a new reality. Our God has already started to bring this hope to you through the promise given to you in baptism, and God continues to proclaim this hope into your ears and heart when you receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. Or if you wish, let this next hymn be the hope you need to hear to provide confidence in God s future for you, for us, for this world. After all, the LORD did proclaim and promise through Zephaniah that he would exult/rejoice over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. The festival we soon will celebrate is the birth of our Savior. So hear, let us sing of the hope and future we have in God our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. 5