I wrote this on Thursday. This means things will be a little different today, because things, but all in all it’s the same homily. It still fits rather well.
Luke 3:7-18; Philippians 4:4-7; Isaiah 12:2-6; Zephaniah 3:14-20
Today seems like a rather hopeful Sunday, really. Isaiah is telling us about how God is our salvation and that we should praise him because of all the things he’s done, which are good. Philippians says to rejoice in the Lord always, and not be anxious about anything instead give it to God in prayer. Zephaniah tells us to rejoice because God hasn’t punished us, even though we deserved it. Luke, even though it’s a bit hidden, is still a good-news kind of thing: John is telling people how to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, which is, of course, a good thing.
But, if you look at our texts a bit more, they’re not near as happy/hopeful as they seem. The following verses in our gospel are: “But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herd added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.” Isaiah’s message of hope comes not long after Isaiah prophesied God’s anger toward and the coming destruction of Israel. Philippians is telling us to rejoice even in the midst of persecution, uncertainty, hunger, poverty, and the like. And Zephaniah… well let’s talk about Zephaniah for a while.
If I had to pick, Zephaniah would be one of the three least hopeful books of the Bible. In fact, for the most part, the “Minor” prophets are all rather lacking in hopeful messages, but most have more than Zephaniah. It starts out with this nugget of pleasantries: “’I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord.”
That’s not a happy way to start a book of prophecy. It also gets better: “’The great day of the Lord is near—near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.’”
So – feeling pretty good now? There’s more like that. Finally we get to the 3rd chapter, and we finally here something hopeful. In the midst of all this awful news and promises of destruction, doom, and otherworldly gloom, we finally hear, in verses 12-20: “’But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid.’ Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.
To paraphrase: After God destroys everything there will be a few people left who still followed God whom God protected in the midst of all of this devastation. These folk would have definite reason to rejoice, but it’s also in the midst of suffering.
So really, all of our lessons for today are not about rejoicing when things are good, although one can safely extrapolate to that state – it’s really about rejoicing when things are bad! That’s a lot harder to do, really, but it’s also a message that is consistent throughout Scripture – in fact rejoicing and trusting God through suffering and hardship is more common than rejoicing and trusting God through easy and pleasant times.
So what does that all mean? Well Philippians tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Then, a few verses later, Paul gives us another hint, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
What Paul is saying is that no matter the circumstances, good or bad, the way to get through life is by trusting God, and instead of worrying, pray! To paraphrase Jesus, “Has worrying ever changed anything?” If anything worrying makes things worse. When things are going bad, and we can’t control it, the only real thing we can do is pray – and trust in God to take care of us through whatever it is.
This is what it means to “rejoice in the Lord always.” It’s not a silly, marginally frightening overabundance of happiness through whatever situation, but it’s an expression of our trust in a God who loves us and wants the best for us.