Zephaniah 3:14-20

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. 16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!  17 For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.  With his love, he will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”  18 “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more.  19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones;   I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. 20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
The Word of the Lord 

Light one Candle for Joy. Light one Candle for Peace. Light one Candle for Hope and next week, Light one Candle for Love.

For me, I think the best way to describe the Christmas Season is, “The Season of Joy!” So this weekend as we light the third candle in the advent wreath I really want to focus on Joy & Rejoicing.

Joy is that feeling you get when you know something that will make you happy is coming, like a new baby or grandbaby. And then it arrives. Joy is that feeling where you hear Good News about a loved one and you can share in their happiness. Joy is that place where there’s a smile on your face and you’re not even sure why. That happens to me so often. I’ll be sitting and praying or listening to Praise music and all of the sudden I realize I’m smiling. I know at that moment I am experiencing the Joy & Peace that Christ offers. (The hardest part of that is actually just sitting and clearing my mind.)

In today’s scripture from Zephaniah; yes, Zephaniah – who would have thought Advent would include a passage from that book. Most people hardly even know who Zephaniah was. He is considered a Minor Prophet of the Old Testament but he was the son of Cushi, who was the son of Gedaliah (Ja-dal-ia), who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Hezekiah. Ok now there’s a familiar name. Zephaniah was the great, great, grandson of Hezekiah. He was also someone who lived at the same time as Jeremiah & Habakkuk, and all three prophets were saying the same thing.

God is angry with Judah however He would hold true to His promise that if His people would listen to Him and return to His ways, they would be restored and reconciled to Him. And this did happen. Between the years 536B.C. & 526B.C. the last group of exiles returned to Judah and God watched over them. So this passage is about Hope and out of Hope comes Joy!

As I studied this text and focused on the thought of Joy, I was able to see that Zephaniah was giving explicit instructions in vs. 14 “…to Sing, to Shout, to rejoice because the LORD will remove judgment and disperse the armies of enemies and then He will come and live among you!” No more trouble, no more need to fear disaster – God will be with us!

Isn’t it true that when we hope for something and it finally happens we have Joy? So smile people of Zion, Shout daughters of Jerusalem there is reason to PRAISE! The exiled people were hoping to return to their land and hoping to be reconciled to God and there was Zephaniah along with Habbakkuk and Jeremiah saying, “Rejoice, this will happen.”

Again, as I studied the text, my mind kept wandering to what was it about the prophets that made people stand and listen? Were they mighty men, strong in voice or were they just common men who loved God? Obviously they had the gift of prophecy. Surely one would think they were holy men of God and therefore when they spoke, people would listen. I wonder if the “Thus saith the Lord.” phrase was the one that sealed their authenticity?

I did a bit of research and found that the prophet Isaiah was described as the “evangelical prophet” because of the way he addressed the people and was so embracing of their needs. Meanwhile, Jeremiah was very young and in an office of power when he prophesied while Zephaniah was more quiet and prophesied as his name described “like a warrior with God hidden in His heart.” (Commentator, Jamison Fausset Brown).

The description of “Warrior” really struck me considering Pastor Steve just used that word to describe our brother Tom Langshaw during Tom’s memorial service this past Tuesday. I believe Pastor Steve’s words were a “quiet spiritual warrior”. Tom really was that with his quiet demeanor and steady reliance on Christ. When Tom spoke about God, people listened. Tom’s memorial service was full of hope and joy even in the midst of great sorrow. An example of God’s people celebrating this Joy.

So when commentator Roy Rusher described Zephaniah as a warrior I couldn’t help but think maybe the people in his time were willing to listen to him not just because it was the words he spoke but also the way he lived, with God hidden in his heart. Zephaniah lived with the promise that the God of peace and hope would reconcile his lost people and we can live with that hope too. Another commentator, Gordan Churchyard, noted that Zephaniah’s prophecy was fulfilled when the Jews came back from exile in Babylon in 536B.C. He also noted that this passage is giving us insight to the future. “It, (restoration & reconciliation) will happen when Jesus comes back to earth.” (Bible Gateway Resources) Isn’t that what this Christmas Season is all about? Redemption, restoration & reconciliation.

So often during the Advent Season and especially on Christmas Eve we hear repeated the famous “Fear Not” passage from Luke 2. And if you are around my age you probably hear it in voice of Linus from “A Charlie Brown’s Christmas”!       

Luke 2:10-14 (King James Version) “10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

This announcement was, for all intense purposes, a birth announcement. We hear the same type of announcement back in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Listen to Isaiah 9:6b, “These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. Then there is the announcement that Zephaniah promised. The people of the day heard that there was news of a savior, a king, a messiah, who would come to save them. One who would come to turn their mourning into dancing, their despair into hope and their darkness into light. That’s news my friends! Good News! And they waited for it with Hope so they could have JOY.

In the Liturgical Calendar Advent is the First season, just like in the regular calendar January is the first month so why are we so surprised when it comes? For Christians, Advent is the opportunity for us to focus on the coming King as we remember His earthly birth and all the prophecies foretelling His coming. It is a regularly scheduled time when we can and should speak freely of our own faith journey. Not that we shouldn’t do that all the time but let’s be honest, it is much easier to show yourself as a Christian when all the lights and trees are up and people seem to have a spirit of the “Holidays”. And personally I think it is exciting to remember each year!

But what about everyday? Shouldn’t we celebrate the miracle of Christ’s birth, death & resurrection everyday? Should we live expecting Peace, Joy & Love? I know I try but it is hard. It is much easier to fall into a pattern of everyday life and not to really live in the spirit. Sure we have thoughts and feeling regarding Christ at other times but do we really live as a people who are looking for the Lord everyday?

A few weeks ago when Pastor Steve spoke on “Hope” he referred to the passage in Luke about the unrighteous judge and the woman who kept badgering him. She had a need and only her constant cry for help would satisfy that need. Imagine her joy when she got what she wanted not to mention the joy of the judge when she finally stopped nagging him. She had hope and celebrated with joy! Then last week Pastor HeyYoung spoke about “Peace” and how God won’t give up until we are all full of His peace and in His comfort. She told us to be prepared the Savior IS coming! Live expecting and rejoice in receiving!

One of my most favorite children’s books is Dr. Suess’ Green Eggs and Ham. In that book “Sam-I-am” is annoying a “man” who was minding his own business. In fact the first page has the character reading a paper while sitting in a chair. Sam sails by with a sign that reads “Sam-I-Am”. I’m sure some of you remember the premise of the story. Throughout the book Sam tries to get the “guy” to eat green eggs and ham and he refuses. “Do you like green eggs and ham?” (pg.10) the guy answers very authoritatively, “I do not like them.” (pg.12) So Sam asks him “Would you like them here or there? (pg.14), “in a house …with a mouse?” (pg.19) “…in a box, with a fox?” and so on. Repeatedly the “not so nice” character says “No, I do not like green eggs and ham!” (pg. 49) Finally after many many tries Sam pleads, “Try them! Try them! And you may.” (pg. 53).The character says “Sam! If you will let me be, I will try them. You will see.” At this point Sam’s friend is exhausted ok, ok, I’ll do it, just leave me alone! The character tastes them and says “Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do I like them, Sam I am! And I would eat them in a boat. And I would eat them with a goat…” (pg. 59) Then Sam’s friend repeats all the places Sam begged him to try them. “I will eat them in a house, with a mouse, here and there, anywhere.” (pg61) “I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am.” (pg.62)

I think Sam is saying, “Hey I discovered this new thing and I want to share it with you.” There are parts of the story where Sam is gentle and encouraging and parts where he is demanding. He is very tenacious! Look friend, just try them. You will see they are good!” After Sam’s friend tasted the eggs and knew they were good there was a look of joy on their faces. (pg62)

The season of Advent, the time leading up to our Saviors birth, sharing the unspeakable JOY that fills the air. All this is part of the reason we remind ourselves to celebrate. We need to do this because God never gives up. He constantly reminds us that the promised Messiah, spoken about by the Old Testament Prophets was born and we should celebrate with a JOY that can not compare to anything else. But I also believe that we need to celebrate this season so we can focus on Christ’s second coming. We are to be waiting with anticipation, living with the hope of Christ’s return and filled with the promise that in Christ, our Joy is complete.

Rejoice ~ show others what you know, smile for no apparent reason, sing with happiness, shout Hallelujah and be tenacious like Sam. Offer a friend, a loved one and even yourself the joy that God sent when Jesus was born and the promise of a better tomorrow was shared. In a Church, in a house, around a tree…Celebrate my friends with ME! “Our Joy is Here.” AMEN!