Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Tuesday, 23 December 2014 - Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Tuesday, 23 December 2014 - Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-15 So sing, Daughter Zion!
    Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
    be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
    and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel’s king,
    in charge at the center.
There’s nothing to fear from evil
    ever again!
God Is Present Among You
16-17 Jerusalem will be told:
    “Don’t be afraid.
Dear Zion,
    don’t despair.
Your God is present among you,
    a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
    and delight you with his songs.
18-20 “The accumulated sorrows of your exile
    will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
    You’ve carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those
    who’ve made your life miserable.
I’ll heal the maimed;
    I’ll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
    they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
    I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You’ll be famous and honored
    all over the world.
You’ll see it with your own eyes—
    all those painful partings turned into reunions!”
        God’s Promise.(The Message)
Are you preparing for some sort of homecoming this Christmas? If so, your plans are likely filled with a sense of joy and anticipation. The thought of going home can stir deep feelings inside. The same is true for the Israel of old. God shares an incredible promise through the prophet Zephaniah: "I will bring you home." The beginning of Zephaniah links these words to the days of King Josiah in Judah. Like most prophetic writings, however, the words continue to speak to subsequent times and places. "Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!" There will come a day when there is no more judgment, no more fear, no more hunger and want. In whatever context these words are heard, the thought of going home leads to feelings of care and safe-keeping. God will gather God's people. All will be well. What more could we want?
Lord God, as many families journey home this Christmas, we ask you to come and make a home with us, and tenderly care for your people. Amen.
Shelley Cunningham
Pastor, Zumbro Lutheran Church
Rochester, Minn. 
Master of Divinity , 1998
Zephaniah 3:14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.
17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
18 as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.(New Revised Standard Version)
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