Week 3 – Proclamation and Joy
Third Sunday of Advent – December 11, 2022
After relighting the candles of Expectation and Hope and of Preparation and Peace, we light the candle of Proclamation and Joy, reminding us that God’s promises are not only sure and true, but cause the greatest possible flourishing in our lives. This is a cause to rejoice.
- Scripture – Zephaniah 3:14-20
“Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.“ - Scripture Reflection
Zephaniah prophesied to Judah and Jerusalem in the reign of the last true and good king, Josiah, before the Babylonian captivity. Although Josiah was a good king, it was too late; God would execute His judgement on His people in order to refine them. But before finishing his prophecy of “woes” over Judah, he also delivers this message of hope to the people. God will restore you and will bring you back to restore your fortunes. The coming of the Christ, and his coming again, are reason for us to sing aloud and shout, because it proves God has not abandoned his creation even in our rebellion. In Christ, God has fought and won the victory over Sin and Death, and demonstrated His infinite love for us. Guilt, Fear, and Shame have been destroyed, and in Christ we are restored. This is the source of Joy that overcomes every other temporary circumstance of this life with endless celebration that is breaking in to recreate our reality, as heaven and earth once again will be as one.
Prayer
Put your new song in our hearts, O God,
that we may shout in Proclaiming the victory you have won for us.
Let us see your restoration and never cease to experience your Joy.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.