Dear friends the message of this Sunday is one of Joy. The texts of scripture chosen for our celebration call on everyone who is on the side of God to rejoice and exult with all our heart. They encourage us to sing and shout for joy with Christ, the Lord of the dance, who brings us the good news of our redemption, and renews us by His love. The reason for this is that God has decided to show mercy to His people.
God’s side to rejoice because, as he pointed out, "… The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away… The Lord is… in your midst; you have no more evil to fear… The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior." It is as though God were telling His people that because of His great Love for them, He has come to their aid in their moment of helplessness.
Notice how the prophet repeats the phrase, 'the Lord your God is in your midst.' God sent him to reassure a despondent people that their time of servitude was over and that they had nothing to fear because the Lord their God is He who fought for and continues to fight for them. Since He has won victory by the power of His outstretched arm, He would come to rejoice over them as on the day of festival. Therefore, this is not a time to recall the pain and hurt they endured when they were in bondage. It is a time to dance for Joy because, God their Redeemer has come to live among them.
In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul encouraged them to show resilience in their faith by rejoicing, for the Lord is near. He urged them to let their tolerance be evident to everyone. He told them further that, since the Lord is near there is no need to worry. He said whenever they are in need, they should "… pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving…" He assured them that when they do this, "that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard their hearts and thoughts in Jesus Christ."
Today St. Luke continued where he left of last Sunday with John the Baptist. (Last week met John proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In his preaching, John called his audience to turn from their evil ways). In today’s text, Luke presents John explaining to his hearers what they had to do in order to befit repentance and become acceptable to the Lord who would soon come among them. He encouraged them to do works of mercy and charity, to be satisfied with that which is their due, no intimidation, and no extortion. All who abide by this would have mercy shown them. In like manner, mother church calls us to prepare for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. For at Christmas we celebrate the mercy of God towards His people who had walked away from His Love.
Today more than ever before, the message of John the Baptist is urgently needed in our society. We live in a time when intimidation is gradually becoming the order of the day and extortion is the trademark of the “powerful.” It is a time when the violent are taking our world by force.
John’s message is that all who want God to be merciful to them cannot afford to be violent and intimidate others; that extortion should not exist among them and that they should appreciate what they have and not exact more than their rate.
In all this however, God speaks to us through His prophet Zephaniah, telling us not to fear. He says we should exult and dance for joy because the enemy will be defeated when He comes to set us free from the grip of our selfish interests that make us disregard the dignity, the safety of others, and the common good of all. God comes to us through the spirit of His Son Jesus Christ whose Birthday we await with ardent expectation. At His coming, it will be a time of great rejoicing. Yet the Church reminds us that to be able to experience the joy and peace brought by our God through His Son, we have to prepare ourselves to receive Him. And the way to receive Him, is to avail ourselves to His mercy through the sacrament of repentance and a true devotion to the Blessed Sacrament
