Bethel Lutheran Church - Pastor Luke Bernthal God\'s Christmas Carol ; Zephaniah 3: 14 - 17; 2009-12-13 The Bulletin (order of service) Text: Zephaniah 3: 14 - 17; One of the worst things about the Christmas season is that it has to come to an end. There is often an emotional let-down when all the parties are over and the decorations are packed up again for another year. Many people suffer bouts of depression shortly after the Christmas season has ended. I’ve been told that suicide rates go up once the holidays have come and gone. All of this, both the letdowns and the temporary joys, are a sure sign of some misplaced Christmas joy. It might seem strange if we were to sing carols like “Joy to the World” and “O Holy Night” in the middle of July, but perhaps those are the times we need to hear them the most. Times when we haven’t thought much about why Christ’s birth was so important, and why it should give us so much joy. After all, the Bible never speaks of that unique joy of Christmas coming only at a certain season each year. In fact, God’s Word tells us the complete opposite! Paul wrote in our Epistle reading for today, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4-7). The first verse of our text reminds us, and all of God’s people, Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! (v. 14). “Sing…shout…be glad and rejoice with all your heart.” Don’t these words from Zephaniah seem to be describing Christmas joy? Zephaniah’s encouragement to joy and singing has everything to do with the true meaning of Christmas, and true Christmas joy. He reminds us twice in just four short verses that the LORD, Jehovah, is “in your midst” (v. 15, 17). This reality physically happened when Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem long ago, but its truth remains forever. Jesus, true God and true man, is still “in our midst.” Therefore, the encouragement to “sing, shout, be glad and rejoice with all your heart” holds true for every day of the year. The joy of Christ’s coming at Christmas is ours every day of our lives. That means that there is not a day that we will be alive on this earth when a Christmas carol expressing the joy of that “Holy Night” would be strange or inappropriate. How can this Christmas joy be ours every day we live and breathe on this earth? Because of what God accomplished through the Savior Son He sent us long ago in that small Judean town of Bethlehem. Let’s read again Zephaniah’s words in our text, which give us the reason for our joy. Let these words of God sink in to your heart as we consider their meaning and significance in each one of our lives: “The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.’” (v. 15-16) These words give us and all of God’s children true Christmas joy even though they were written around 600 years before that first Christmas day. This prophecy, as with all of God’s Old Testament promises, pointed to what God would accomplish for the world through His Son Jesus. First, Zephaniah says, “The LORD has taken away your judgments” (v. 15a). In our Old Testament reading we read how Isaiah foretold that Christ would bring forgiveness, comfort, and peace to all of God’s people, "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD's hand Double for all her sins" (Isaiah 40:1-2). Secondly, our sermon text reminds us that through Jesus, God has “cast out your enemy” (v. 15b). The Bible tells us that this is the reason Jesus came to this earth. “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 NASB). Jesus would accomplish this through His death on the cross and His resurrection to life again on the third day. Zephaniah also tells us in our text, “The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst” (v. 15c). Zephaniah’s words physically came true at the birth of Christ our King. The wise men who came from the east to worship Him knew of His Kingship because of God’s Old Testament promises. Matthew 2:1-2 “Behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." Because of the salvation that Jesus won for us through His birth, life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection, these words of Zephaniah will eternally be true when we receive the fruits of Christ’s labors in heaven, “The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak’” (v. 15c-16). These prophetic words bring to mind the vision of heaven’s eternal bliss that John wrote about in Revelation, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’" (Revelation 21:3-4). This incredible gift of salvation from God Himself should do more than just inspire us to joy and singing once a year. It should do more than produce kindness and generosity in our hearts once a year. God’s gift of salvation in Christ is joyful, and generous enough to produce thankfulness and joy in every word, thought, and action we perform every day of our lives—and yes, it may even move us to sing some Christmas carols! But we aren’t the only ones who will be singing! We won’t even be leading the song. We often think that when we join together in singing Christmas carols to the Christ child we are the only ones who are signing, but that’s not true. Zephaniah tells us in one of the most unique passages in all of Scripture that God Himself “will rejoice over you with singing” (v. 17). God is just as happy as we are – probably happier – at the thought of our salvation through His Son Jesus. After all, the salvation of the human race is God’s one great desire, “God our Savior…desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Our salvation was His plan from the very beginning and He rejoices over us with words of comfort and joy, “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (v. 17). In Christ, God enjoys the pleasure that is found in completing a long and difficult task. His task, which began with His words, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:1) at creation, ended with Jesus’ words “It is finished” (John 19:30) on the cross. If God is leading us in this joyful Christmas carol, we might wonder just what God’s Christmas Carol is? What kind of song does God sing over us? For the answer we need to look no further than the very first “Christmas carol,” in which God used His multitude of angels as His singing voice on that first Christmas night, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14). God rejoices with singing over the peace that Christ came to bring between Himself and mankind. The sins that angered God and separated us from His holy presence have been erased by Christ’s blood. He no longer burns and thunders at us in His righteous wrath. Because of Christ, “He will rejoice over [us] with gladness, He will quiet [us] with His love, He will rejoice over [us] with singing” (v. 17). One of the most comforting and peace-giving memories I have in my life are the memories of my mother singing hymns over me while she tucked me and my brothers and sisters into bed when we were younger. I can remember times when I was upset, or sick, or crying, or scared and my mother’s singing to me would give me comfort and peace to help me fall asleep. Just think how comforting, peace-giving, and joyful the thought is that God Himself “will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (v. 17)! God gave us this comfort, peace, and joy when He sent Jesus, the ultimate Gift of His love and the reason for all Christmas carols—both ours and God’s! On the Last Day, when all of God’s work in time is completed, God’s Christmas Carol will be the “Song of the Lamb.” A song which John tells us in Revelation that all of God’s angels together with all creation will sing to Jesus: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:12). May God’s song of our salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ, be our song, sung—not just with our mouths, and not just at Christmas—but with our whole lives! Amen. |