“Jumping to conclusions”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, December 15, 2024
Zephaniah 3: 14-20 (Forward, p. 47) CEV p. 960
It has sometimes been said that the chief exercise that some people get is jumping to conclusions. Well, might this be said concerning how some people might choose to apply today’s passage. It is a great celebration of the Lord’s restoration of Jerusalem and Judah. The Lord promises them victory, blessing and fame, and some have taken this personally, seeing it as a personal promise either to themselves or to their nation (as in America or Israel)
While these promises are indeed true, but what isn’t factored in is that there will first be a time when God metes out punishment, not just to the forementioned places in Israel, but also to numerous nations round about. While it identifies some of the misdeeds of these surrounding nations, what is especially noteworthy is it describes how God’s people have erred and are therefore subject to the divine wrath and punishment. It singles out their idolatry, their rebellion and disobedience, their failure in leadership, and their reliance upon material things as being noteworthy and grievous.
Yes, nations, and even Israel, will be restored and turn to the Lord, but only at the price of their truly humbling themselves, turning to Him for safety, and living righteously. It is in this context, and this context alone, that today’s hymn of celebration and promises of God apply.
So, can we jump to conclusions and surmise that this also applies to us? While indeed it must be said that it was originally written to another time, nation and situation, I think that it is fair to say that if we, you and I and today’s society, will embrace a humble trust and obedience in God , dispense in worshipping or depending upon ‘other gods’ (such as possessions), and seek to live and walk in His ways, then yes, some of these blessings and promises might well apply to us as well.
Forward notes: ”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” (verse 17).
“Listen. Can you hear it? Do you feel it? Do you perceive it? The world is shifting, moving, and changing, right beneath our feet. God’s dream is breaking, birthing, beginning anew right before our eyes. Look around you, look within you, the old way, the old you, the old things that have been divided and destroyed are falling away.
“In this era of oppression and animosity, God dreams. God dreams of a time when all God’s beloved children are seen, heard, and loved equally. God dreams of a time when divisions of race, class, and culture fall away, and all of God’s children are simply beloved children of God. God invites us into that dream and to imagine a different world.
“We are called for this time to be co-dreamers with God, to follow Jesus in building a more just society. Advent is about joining God in dreaming. We must ask ourselves: Are we willing to stand up for God’s dream? Are we willing to be prophets and preachers for God’s dream? Are we willing to come out and step out for God’s dream?”
“Dream and then dare to do.”
Moving Forward: “Are you willing to stand up for God’s dream?”
A concluding note: To make ‘God’s dream’ a reality we must do more than just what our author suggests. Rectifying injustice and discrimination is but a small but integral part in this. Far more significant is repentance from following our own ways and adhering to our own gods—whatever gods they may be--and turning back to God, listening to He and His word, and obeying Him. Our own gods, by the way, may even be less obvious things such as power, pleasure, position, possessions, or political ideology. This, according to the Scriptures, must be part of the equation.