The readings this Sunday have the great and much needed theme of rejoicing. For a people who believe in a good and gracious God and a happy afterlife, most Christians I know (including myself) fall way short in the amount of rejoicing we do. Zephaniah reminds us "we have no further misfortune to fear...be not discouraged". In the midst of either personal family problems or universal global problems that touch if not clobber us all, it is hard to think that there are no more misfortunes on the horizon. In fact, we know some will come. It is part of life for all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike.
This is a Sunday of hope, however. We are told in Philippians to "dismiss all anxiety from your mind." How can we do this honestly? I think we must realize that we, by ourselves, can not erase the hardship of misfortune. What we can do is minimize its effects on us and those we know by helping one another through whatever problems come along both physically and spiritually. We can and should rejoice in the fact that "God's own peace will stand guard over our hearts and minds." We absolutely must acknowledge that we need a Savior !
I always look forward to the 3rd Sunday in Advent. It is usually about that time that I catch up with myself and then slow down to remember what Advent and Christmas are all about. I don't usually get too caught up in the commercialism of Christmas, just the hectic pace of the end of the year, etc. Advent is about preparation, the thinking and then the doing, of whatever it takes for me to re-acknowledge that I need a Savior every day. When that thought sinks in, I rejoice... and I continue to rejoice because the work of salvation has already been accomplished for me and for you. We have a Savior! Our job is to act in response to that great gift. However we respond through our gratitude and actions, we must do so accompanied by rejoicing. Let us use this weekend to do just that as a start to doing more of it much more frequently... until it becomes the habit it needs to be.
(Comments to Lanie at lanieleblanc@mindspring.com.)