Zephaniah 3.14-20
Luke 3.7-18
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We are undoubtedly experiencing times of considerable political upheaval. Recent weeks have seen political turmoil in the Middle East, South Korea, and France. During human history this is nothing unusual. Countless political regimes have come and gone, overturned by revolutions, coups and invasions. Likewise, in the Old Testament, wars and political upheaval are part of the very fabric of its narrative sweep. And it is through the prophets, that God speaks to His people and gives them His interpretation of the violent upheavals of power in their time. Through the prophets the people of Israel are told the consequences of their wickedness on their relationship with God, both in the present and for their future. Israel is a shameless nation whose waywardness deserves the harsh judgement of God. And God speaks words of anger, retribution, judgement, and warns them of more pain and upheavals to come. But throughout this season of Advent, we are reminded that God also speaks words of promise, comfort and hope to His people.
The prophet Zephaniah was around at a similar time to Jeremiah with the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile looming on the horizon. It was an uncertain dark time when Jerusalem was under assault. The early chapters of Zephaniah are full of God’s judgement against Jerusalem, warning that the day of the Lord will be ‘a day of wrath, distress and anguish’ when ‘the whole earth will be consumed for a full and terrible end’. It is frightening stuff, no doubt intended to shake Israel out of complacency and scare it into changing its ways. But then in our reading, Zephaniah’s prophecy takes an unexpected turn. God no longer speaks words of condemnation and grief, and instead the people are promised that their enemies will be dealt with, God will rejoice over them, their fortunes will be restored, and God will renew them in His love. It’s an amazing and all-important shift and one which resonates throughout the corpus of the prophetic tradition and speaks powerfully into Advent –because it signifies the very character of God and that His anger and judgement are not all, because beyond God’s judgement is the promise of joy for all those who remain faithful. The significance of this link between judgement and promise is not to be underestimated because it is through these words of the hope of the coming of God’s future rule, that God reshapes the lives of His people. God’s words of judgement and promise can and do
become the source of new beginnings energised by a hope invested in the assurance of God’s faithfulness, and His unshakeable love for His people and all of creation. So here in Zephaniah, God is not only naming the reality and consequences of Israel’s wickedness, but also inviting them to turn away from despair, and to hold out against the narrative that everything is falling apart; to hold out against the malaise of helplessness and turn again to obey God and trust and hope in His promises for their future.
Fast forward to John the Baptist, who like the prophets has words of judgement, repentance, and the need to turn again to God as the day of the Lord approaches. John too is speaking in turbulent times. Times of frequent uprisings against the Romans where the people of Isreal were living under a rule characterised by fear and oppression. They were desperate for this rule to end and longed for a sign of hope. It was fertile ground for John’s prophetic word. But just as John’s message of repentance is similar to that of the Hebrew prophets, John goes further and speaks of how repentance is to be lived out in the people’s everyday lives. How repentance bears fruit. So when various groups of people ask ‘What then shall we do?’ to prepare for the Messiah’s coming, John’s responses are very practical – tax collectors deal honestly with people, soldiers do not abuse your power, resist corruption and be content with your wages and for everyone- if you have enough to spare then share what you have with those in need. Authentic repentance that bears fruit means live generously, honestly and care for those in need. This is the way to salvation and it is nothing short of gospel living and this is how the Kingdom of God is proclaimed and draws near.
Then what should we do in response to Zephaniah and John the Baptist’s words and indeed in our response to our God who came to us in Jesus? Well, firstly, it is obvious, we should take seriously John’ words to repent, be honest, be generous and care for others. And secondly, I think we need to open ourselves up to the possibilities of the energising hope to be found in the life of faith in Christ Jesus.
Zephaniah presented the people of Israel with a vision of a God-shaped future, rooted in the assurance of God’s faithfulness and mercy toward His people. This gave them a hope that transformed their present and led them into a new future with God. Likewise, John the Baptist prepared the way for a re-imagined God-shaped future in the coming of Jesus. He invited the people to grasp the hope of the gospel embodied in Jesus the Messiah and to let it shape them and their future rooted in the hope of the promise of the radical Kingdom of God.
During Advent, God invites us to rekindle the hope which Jesus brings to us and our world and allow it to reform us so that we can all bear witness to this hope and love within our grasp in this seemingly dark and unstable world. And when we live generously, and care for others, we not only proclaim God’s kingdom afresh but affirm the reality that God’s Kingdom can and does break through into this troubled world. These glimpses of the Kingdom assert the truth of God’s promises for the future, as we wait hopeful and expectant for the time when Christ will come again in glory and all the promises of God and His Kingdom will at last be fulfilled. Amen.