Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Monday, 10 November 2014 - Scripture: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Monday, 10 November 2014 - Scripture: Zephaniah 1:7-13 “Quiet now!
    Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time’s up. My Judgment Day is near:
    The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God’s Judgment Day,
    I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
    Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I’ll punish all who import pagan superstitions
    that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!” God’s Decree!
    “Cries of panic from the city’s Fish Gate,
Cries of terror from the city’s Second Quarter,
    sounds of great crashing from the hills!
Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!
    Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.
On Judgment Day,
    I’ll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.
I’ll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,
    amusing themselves and taking it easy,
Who think, ‘God doesn’t do anything, good or bad.
    He isn’t involved, so neither are we.’
But just wait. They’ll lose everything they have,
    money and house and land.
They’ll build a house and never move in.
    They’ll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.
A Day of Darkness at Noon
14-18 “The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.
    It’s countdown time: . . . seven, six, five, four . . .
Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,
    even strong men screaming for help.
Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:
    a day of distress and anguish,
    a day of catastrophic doom,
    a day of darkness at noon,
    a day of black storm clouds,
    a day of bloodcurdling war cries,
    as forts are assaulted,
    as defenses are smashed.
I’ll make things so bad they won’t know what hit them.
    They’ll walk around groping like the blind.
    They’ve sinned against God!
Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,
    their guts shoveled into slop buckets.
Don’t plan on buying your way out.
    Your money is worthless for this.
This is the Day of God’s Judgment—my wrath!
    I care about sin with fiery passion—
A fire to burn up the corrupted world,
    a wildfire finish to the corrupting people.”(The Message)
There's a certain hush that falls over creation this time of year. A layer of snow has silenced the crunching leaves, the birds have migrated to warmer climates. The cold slices through the clouds leaving a crystal blue sky above Fairbanks, while the mountains tower in the near distance. There is beauty in this scene, but there is also unease. There is barrenness, but there is also hidden hope.
In the chilling lines of this short reading from the prophet Zephaniah, hope certainly feels hidden. Almighty God comes to set things straight. All the things we hold on to so dearly seem to melt away—security, future, wealth, even ourselves—all but the faith we have in God. Make no mistake: that causes uneasiness even in the most faithful! But when those things are melting away, our hope is revealed in Jesus Christ, the one who remains to show us God's mercy.
Thank you God for making things as they should be. As my life is re-ordered, give me hope that you are re-making me in the image of your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
Amanda Kempthorne
Pastor, Lord of Life Lutheran Church
North Pole, Ala. 
Master of Divinity , 2009
Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.
12 At that time 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."
13 Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.
14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there.
15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.
17 I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.(New Revised Standard Version)
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