Third Sunday of Advent
Readings – Zephaniah 3: 14-20; Canticle 9; Philippians 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 7-18
Scholars think that the concluding verses of the Book of Zephaniah, the prophet, are a postscript, added years later to his proclamation. These last verses were probably written after 586 B.C.E. when the previously exiled Israelites were allowed to return home by the Assyrian Empire. They are words of joy.
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exalt with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
…At that time [says the Lord God] I will bring you home,
at that time when I gather you…
Most likely, the earlier section of the book was written in the 7th c. B.C.E. when Zephaniah proclaimed the Day of the Lord when I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.
In those days the people of Israel had “turned back from following the Lord God”. The people in exile knew that they could not through their own efforts reform and renew their faith in God, only God could redeem the people of God, only God could “bring them home”.
Our canticle, the First Song of Isaiah, also proclaimed Surely, it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid.
In their life times the prophets Zephaniah and Isaiah did not know we would be brought home to God by a babe born in a manger. They did not know “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”. Yet, we do; yes, we do.
Though the world may be dark around us, just as it was dark around them, we know that peace that the world can not overcome. Though the world may be full of hopelessness and despair, we can rejoice, and let our requests be known to God. Yes, we can.
In just a few days we will be pulled again toward the babe in the manger. Mary and Joseph are making that journey once again. Yet, even before they get to Bethlehem, before we get to journey with them once again, we know where our true home is.
Our home is always with our God.
Our home is with family around the manger in Bethlehem.
Our home is not with the rich and famous.
Our home is not with the high and mighty.
Our home is not with the powerful and glitzy.
Our home is with the family, with the cow and ox, with the mice and the doves, with the rough-hewn rafters and straw-covered dirt, with the scruffy shepherds, with the heavenly chorus, and with the young seamstress and carpenter.
The prodigal son went away to seek his fame and fortune, and then came to his senses. His waiting father saw him returning from afar off and welcomed him back home.
On the Emmaus Road a few disciples were fleeing Jerusalem when they encountered a stranger who walked with them. Finally, when he broke break with them, they recognized him, and they hurried back to Jerusalem and the other disciples, their home.
This season of Advent is a time to remember where our true home is to be found, at the manger that nestles our God.
Prepare to rejoice. Prepare to give thanks. Surely, it is God who saves [us]. [We] will trust in him and not be afraid.
God brings us home.
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.
Amen
