Rejoice with all your Heart

One of the more satisfying experiences of the Advent season is to listen once again to the magnificent prophecies found in the Hebrew Bible.  The prophet Zephaniah proclaimed, “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart…. The Lord, your God, is in your midst;… 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.”

In a world threatened by fear, terrorists, global warming, and a rising sense of xenophobia, a new commitment is needed to make life more responsible and respectful for future generations.  We need leaders in every nation today who are committed to bringing diverse people and nations together to find common ground and develop policies that are humane and respectful of diversity. Jews, Christians and Muslims are known as “People of the Book;” we are all descendents of Abraham.  As Christians our hope this year is for peace and justice, and especially for international collaboration that respects the dignity of every human being and nation.  When that happens we will be able to “rejoice and exult with all our hearts.”

Our world does not always encourage us to be aware of God’s presence in our midst.  Even the very idea of God seems at times to have lost all relevance for modern life.  We can be victimized by this attitude.  Our own daily experiences can lead us to believe that God is not as present to us now as in past generations.

Nevertheless, as the prophet Zephaniah said, God is in our midst.  Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, adds to this proclamation, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

These joyful songs remind us that God is not absent from all of us who live now during the time between God’s coming in Jesus’ birth and God’s coming at the end of time.  God is already in our midst.  God’s love is not lessened by violence or prejudice and bigotry, Nor is it lessened by natural disasters, plague or famine.  God’s purpose is not diminished.  God’s presence is real, and the fact that God’s peace is beyond our human understanding is an affirmation of a more authentic presence than one that is directly obvious.  It means that God is present in the manner of love rather than in a manner of absolute power over human freedom.

What this means is that the choices we make belong to us.  God is powerful in, through, and by the way of love.  It is up to us to know and accept that.  And, it is up to us to live in such a way that it makes a difference in our lives, in who we are and in what we do.  God’s presence is a disarming and a surprising presence; it is a love that appears in a fragile way; in the birth of a baby and in death by crucifixion.  This is a vulnerable presence of love and it is the source of hope for all humanity.  God’s love obliges us to love one another.  God’s presence, God’s power, is the power of love and hope.  God is in our midst, with us and with all people everywhere, working in and through human lives every day, but not in any coercive way.

John the Baptist announced God’s presence in our midst.  He spoke to the people who were so filled with hope and expectation that they questioned whether he might be the Messiah.  “John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”

John proclaimed the good news of God’s coming and he called upon his followers to repent, to make a profound change in the direction of their lives.  This repentance was to be the beginning of a new moral integrity and a physical simplicity.  This is one of the world’s most ancient religious insights: the presence of the holy in the midst of human life requires and creates a fundamental change in the human condition.  The slow-moving, heavy burdens of our lives brought on by a culture of consumerism and moral indifference is incompatible with the holy.  God is holy.  God is in our midst, and the excess of our lives, the chaff that must be separated from the wheat, will be burned.

This weekend is called the National Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend.  It is a weekend devoted to the difficult task of separating the chaff  of violence and death by guns from the holy and good life proclaimed by John the Baptist.  The Christian gospel sees no need for guns.  When John the Baptist, who in some ways had an evangelical style of religion, was asked by the crowds about what we should do, he told them to share what you have with others; don’t control more than you need; practice nonviolence towards others; refrain from financial extortion, threatening behavior, and making false accusations against others; and be satisfied with what you have.

The great theme, “For unto us a child is born” should be our song of exultation and rededication.  The celebration of the birth of a child in Bethlehem, the Incarnation of God in human form, is the celebration and commitment to the enduring power of hope, peace, love and new life.

Yes, good friends, God is in our midst.  In the words of the ancient Advent hymn we sang at the beginning of our service:

           “O Come, desire of nations,

bind in one the hearts of humankind;

bid thou our sad divisions cease

and be thyself our King of Peace….” 

As the prophet Zephaniah said, “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart.”  And, as Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always;…Rejoice!”  May God’s peace and love “guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Amen.