Zephaniah 1:7-13
There are many ways to respond to God’s presence in the world, but in our Old Testament reading for today the prophet Zephaniah condemns one in particular. “At that time,” we read, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm’" (Zephaniah 1:12). Think what you will about God, but if you assume God is unwilling or unable to act, and if you allow that belief to take root in your life until you become overly confident, you will be judged for your misguided lifestyle. What Zephaniah is addressing is not atheism or even agnosticism. He is speaking to the conviction that God exists but is powerless or unwilling to address human activity. It is the belief in a passive God, and God is anything but passive.
Unfortunately, much of our modern culture is predicated upon the thought that God is inactive, or perhaps even approving of the way we live. I believe this rises from a sort of spiritual blindness that fails––or refuses––to see the hand of God at work in significant ways. What faith knows to be a gift of Providence, complacency takes as a stroke of luck or even the result of one’s own effort. People of faith have a job to do, pointing out the work of God when and where it takes place, teaching the world to recognize divine blessing, opening eyes that are blind to God’s activity, and correcting the world’s complacent vision.
God is active; to assume otherwise is to invite the prophetic condemnation.
Prayer: Lord, help us to see through eyes of faith the work you are doing in our world, and help us to respond with gratitude. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Showing posts with label Zephaniah 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zephaniah 1. Show all posts
Monday, November 5, 2012
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Faith v. Faulty Towers
Zephaniah 1:14-18
Luke 13:1-9
The prophet Zephaniah offers this warning to the people of God: “Neither (your) silver nor (your) gold will be able to save (you) on the day of the Lord’s wrath…” (Zephaniah 1:18). It is a familiar idea in scripture, that wealth is no guarantee of salvation, and anything can be turned into an idol. But when set beside today’s reading from Luke Zephaniah’s words, as emphatic as they are, still take on a heightened meaning.
In Luke, Jesus is told about a group of Galileans murdered by Pilot as they offered sacrifices in the temple. “What do you think about this?” Jesus asks his listeners. “Was this God’s judgment on them because they were worse sinners than others? And what about the 18 people killed by a collapsing tower? Were they any worse than others living in Jerusalem at the time?” No, says Jesus, neither they nor the Galileans were worse sinners than anyone else. But unless you repent (literally “turn around” in your living) you can expect to perish just as they did (Luke 13:1-5).
It all has to do with our relationship to God. To invest hope in wealth or comfort, to treat any other aspect of life as though it were a god, is to be separated from the one true God. You might as well have a tower fall on you for all the good it will do. Instead, trust in God, live to God, be focused on God and God’s will. Then falling towers will become nothing to fear. As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7-8). Perhaps it is all about perspective. Those who count on their own wealth or abilities in life have no hope. But those who trust in God live in hope and, when the time comes, die in hope as well. And that is something that no amount of money in the world could ever buy.
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to live our lives in the hope that you alone can offer, trusting in you and your merciful grace. Amen.
Luke 13:1-9
The prophet Zephaniah offers this warning to the people of God: “Neither (your) silver nor (your) gold will be able to save (you) on the day of the Lord’s wrath…” (Zephaniah 1:18). It is a familiar idea in scripture, that wealth is no guarantee of salvation, and anything can be turned into an idol. But when set beside today’s reading from Luke Zephaniah’s words, as emphatic as they are, still take on a heightened meaning.
In Luke, Jesus is told about a group of Galileans murdered by Pilot as they offered sacrifices in the temple. “What do you think about this?” Jesus asks his listeners. “Was this God’s judgment on them because they were worse sinners than others? And what about the 18 people killed by a collapsing tower? Were they any worse than others living in Jerusalem at the time?” No, says Jesus, neither they nor the Galileans were worse sinners than anyone else. But unless you repent (literally “turn around” in your living) you can expect to perish just as they did (Luke 13:1-5).
It all has to do with our relationship to God. To invest hope in wealth or comfort, to treat any other aspect of life as though it were a god, is to be separated from the one true God. You might as well have a tower fall on you for all the good it will do. Instead, trust in God, live to God, be focused on God and God’s will. Then falling towers will become nothing to fear. As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7-8). Perhaps it is all about perspective. Those who count on their own wealth or abilities in life have no hope. But those who trust in God live in hope and, when the time comes, die in hope as well. And that is something that no amount of money in the world could ever buy.
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to live our lives in the hope that you alone can offer, trusting in you and your merciful grace. Amen.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Are We Resting On the Dregs?
Zephaniah 1:7-13
Revelation 14:1-13
Luke 12:49-59
The prophet Zephaniah uses an interesting turn of phrase in today’s reading. “…I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm’” (Zephaniah 1:12). According to Elizabeth Achtemeier the expression, “to rest on one’s dregs,” comes from the process of making wine. New wine that is left to sit too long will become “thick and syrupy and too sweet and subject to mold” (Achtemeier, Nahum—Malachi, John Knox Press, 1986, p. 69.). In other words, such wine becomes good for nothing, as do the people who produce it. The prophet condemns this apathy among God’s people as growing out of the belief that “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm” (Zephaniah 1:12), or that God is apathetic, inactive, and “good for nothing” as well.
But our other two readings today give us a much different view of God. “Fear God and give him glory,” says the writer of Revelation, “for the hour of his judgment has come…” (Revelation 14:7). Jesus says, “I came to bring fire to the earth.…Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Luke 12:49, 51). God is anything put apathetic. God is anything but inactive. God is anything but worthless. We may be tempted to “rest on our dregs” with complacency, but God’s will is that we get up and get to work preparing for the coming kingdom, meeting the needs of the world, reaching out in God’s name to cure and to comfort and to console. God is holding us accountable so there is no time to waste.
What can we do today that will demonstrate active participation in the will of God? We can care for the hurting, we can give to the poor, we can share the good news with those who sit in darkness. We can pray for the church and for one another. In these ways we produce good fruit, wine suitable for its purpose, lives in tune with the will of God.
Prayer: Lord, help us to remain active in service to you and to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Revelation 14:1-13
Luke 12:49-59
The prophet Zephaniah uses an interesting turn of phrase in today’s reading. “…I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm’” (Zephaniah 1:12). According to Elizabeth Achtemeier the expression, “to rest on one’s dregs,” comes from the process of making wine. New wine that is left to sit too long will become “thick and syrupy and too sweet and subject to mold” (Achtemeier, Nahum—Malachi, John Knox Press, 1986, p. 69.). In other words, such wine becomes good for nothing, as do the people who produce it. The prophet condemns this apathy among God’s people as growing out of the belief that “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm” (Zephaniah 1:12), or that God is apathetic, inactive, and “good for nothing” as well.
But our other two readings today give us a much different view of God. “Fear God and give him glory,” says the writer of Revelation, “for the hour of his judgment has come…” (Revelation 14:7). Jesus says, “I came to bring fire to the earth.…Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Luke 12:49, 51). God is anything put apathetic. God is anything but inactive. God is anything but worthless. We may be tempted to “rest on our dregs” with complacency, but God’s will is that we get up and get to work preparing for the coming kingdom, meeting the needs of the world, reaching out in God’s name to cure and to comfort and to console. God is holding us accountable so there is no time to waste.
What can we do today that will demonstrate active participation in the will of God? We can care for the hurting, we can give to the poor, we can share the good news with those who sit in darkness. We can pray for the church and for one another. In these ways we produce good fruit, wine suitable for its purpose, lives in tune with the will of God.
Prayer: Lord, help us to remain active in service to you and to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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