You have access to God – what else do you need?
Like many prophets before him, Zephaniah is charged by God to call out the people of Israel for having denied their own beliefs and taken on the faith practices of the communities among whom they have been exiled. Having failed to be true to covenant, they feel a penalty has been imposed on them by God. But Zephaniah also offers hope for the future: The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he tells the remnant of Israel. Zephaniah wants to bring the people back to proper worship of the Lord. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, Zephaniah says, a mighty savior – you just weren’t paying attention. But God will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in his love, singing joyfully because of you! The prophet Isaiah builds on this statement by inciting the people to joyful song: Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel! God’s great works are to be proclaimed to all the nations, and most significant among those works is God’s very presence among them, the fountain of their salvation. All have access to God – what more do they need to be joyful?
In Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist will underscore the need for the people to open themselves to the God who will soon be revealed to them: one mightier than I is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire, John tells the crowds. To do so, they must not only repent, but also do justice by one another, eschewing extortion from the poor, for example, and every false accusation, and instead sharing their cloaks with the person who has none. They are to act upon the love of God that will be revealed among them, and open themselves to the radical transformation Jesus calls them to. If their kindness is known to all, Paul instructs the Philippians, then they can rejoice in the Lord always. For the Lord is near whenever we serve others with justice rather than dwelling upon any cause for anxiety. Thanks to the death and rising of Jesus Christ, we all have access to God – what more do we need to be joyful?
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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