A God Who Sings

December 15, 2024 homily on Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-18 by Pastor Galen

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 as on a day of festival. – Zephaniah 3:17-18a

What Brings You Joy?

What brings you joy during this time of the year? For me, it’s Christmas songs and Christmas cookies. I love hearing and singing Christmas songs. How can you not smile when you hear Frosty the Snowman, or It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas? And I love Christmas cookies. The green and red icing and sprinkles, and all of the holiday shapes, bring me a lot of joy. And I love that there are a lot of events during this time of the year where there’s Christmas music and Christmas cookies. (For example, if you come out to the Christmas concert at Good Shepherd UMC this afternoon, or if you join us for Christmas caroling next Saturday, I can pretty much guarantee there will be Christmas cookies!)

Joy and singing often go hand in hand. We sing when we feel joyful, and singing (or hearing someone sing) often brings us joy. My wife loves to sing, and hearing my wife sing brings me a lot of joy. When my wife and I got married, my wife’s oldest brother told me that I would always be able to tell whether Eboni was happy if I heard her singing around the house. If there are long periods of time when I don’t hear her singing, then I know something’s wrong, but if I hear her singing, then I know everything is OK.

Rejoice!

It is with all of this in mind that we turn to our text in Zephaniah 3, where the prophet Zephaniah not only instructed the people of Israel to sing aloud and to rejoice and exult with all their hearts (see Zeph. 3:14), but he told them that the Lord will rejoice over them with gladness, and exult over them with singing! (see Zeph. 3:17). Zephaniah says, 

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. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. 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 as on a day of festival.” (Zephaniah 3:16-18a)

A Call to Repentance

Now, Zephaniah’s prophecy was forward-facing, because at the time he delivered this prophetic word from God, there did not seem to be a whole lot for the people of Jerusalem to sing about. In chapter 1, Zephaniah had predicted the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. Zephaniah’s prophecy, like that of the other prophets of the Hebrew Bible, was intended to wake the people up to the ways in which they had turned away from God. God’s judgment was a last resort, only if they failed to repent. But alas, Zephaniah’s warning went unheeded, and Zephaniah’s prediction of doom and gloom did indeed come true.

But if the people were still living in sin, and their city was about to be destroyed, why then does God say that they should sing aloud and rejoice with all their hearts? And why does Zephaniah say that God rejoices over them with singing?

Well, as counterintuitive as it may seem, the fact that God sent the prophet Zephaniah, and other prophets like him, to call the people to repentance is in and of itself a reason to rejoice — because it shows that God cares about God’s people. 

Think about a time when someone you love has made you angry. Maybe they made a decision that you disagreed with. Maybe they didn’t call you when they said they would. Maybe they did something that hurt you or upset you. Anger is a natural response toward someone you care deeply about. If you didn’t care about them, you would probably feel apathy or indifference. It wouldn’t really affect you that much. But because you love and are about them, it causes a strong reaction in you. 

The same is true for God. When we hear talk about God’s anger or wrath, or even judgment in the Bible, what’s behind it is love. If God didn’t love us as people, then there wouldn’t be talk of God’s wrath or judgment. But God does care about people — deeply, and God doesn’t want us to hurt each other. And so God gets angry when we treat each other unjustly or are mean to each other. God gets angry at oppression and hatred and bigotry. God gets angry when there’s abuse of power, or when people are left out or pushed to the wayside. God gets angry at sin and evil and injustice because God cares about us.

This is why God’s love and justice go hand in hand. God cares about us and wants what is best for us. And that involves treating each other right. This is why God sent prophets like Zephaniah. And this is why God sent John the Baptist to prepare the hearts and minds of people for Jesus’s ministry and to call them to repent — to turn away from their sin and to turn to God. And it’s why God calls us to proclaim the Good News in our world today as well. Because God loves us.

A God Who Sings Over Us

But God is not a God who only experiences anger. God is also a God who delights in us. And Zephaniah helps us see this as well. God’s singing and rejoicing over us is further evidence of God’s deep love and compassion for us. It is not separate from God’s anger at sin and injustice. God can simultaneously be angry at our sin, and rejoice over us, because they are both signs of God’s love.

Think again about someone you love deeply who has done something that upset you. Even in the midst of being sad or angry about what they did, you never stop loving them. And of course when your relationship with this is restored you will be happy and rejoice. In fact, our exuberance is even greater after we’ve had a fight or argument with someone and are restored in our relationship with them. Both anger and rejoicing can be evidence of our love for someone.

In the same way, God’s love for us as God’s people is evidenced in Scripture both in God sending prophets to call the people to repentance, and in God singing and rejoicing over God’s people.

Sharing the Good News of God’s Love

The thing is that this is really not the picture that most people have of God today. If you were to ask the average person on the street how they picture God, what do you think they might say?

Some, no doubt, have an image of an angry, vengeful God who is just waiting for them to mess up so that God can strike them down. They live in fear of God. Don’t believe me? Invite 10 people to church, and I guarantee you that at least one of those people will say something along the lines of, “God would probably strike me with lightning if I tried to enter a church!” This is the feeling that a lot of people have — that God hates them, or is angry with them, and that there is no hope for them, no matter what they do. They don’t realize that God’s anger at sin is actually a sign of God’s deep love and compassion for us, and that God is always standing ready and willing to forgive. 

But on the opposite side, there is an overwhelming number of people in our society who think that God simply doesn’t care about them. They don’t picture God as angry and vengeful — rather they see God as cold and distant and uncaring. They don’t think God cares one little bit about what they do or don’t do. And so they go about their lives, carefree, not worried about the consequences of their actions, because they don’t believe God cares anyway. 

This, then, is part of our task. To help people see that God does care. That God is love. And this is not a license to live however we please, because there are very real consequences to our actions. When we go against God’s plan for our lives, it always leads to destruction. Yes, there is grace and forgiveness, and yes God is waiting to accept us back again, but often we still face the consequences of our decisions. It’s always best to do things God’s way. The good news is that we don’t have to try to do it on our own. God is always there to help us, to give us strength and courage to do what is right, if we will but ask. And when we mess up, we can trust that God will be there to pick us back up again. 

And so part of our task as followers of Christ is to share the message that there is hope and grace and forgiveness. It’s to call others to repentance — to turn away from their sin and wrongdoing, and to turn to God. And the other part of our task is to help them get to know a God who sings over them and rejoices in them and delights in them. Not because of what they have done or haven’t done, but simply because we are all God’s beloved children. God made us, and God delights in us, and there is nothing we could do or fail to do that would ever change that reality.

A God Who Gathers the Outcasts

And this leads us to the last few verses of Zephaniah. There’s something really significant here that I don’t want us to miss. The imagery of God singing and rejoicing over God’s people is intertwined with imagery of God as a mighty warrior who leads the people to victory. In Zephaniah’s future-facing prophecy, he looks forward to the time after the people of Jerusalem have been taken into captivity, and after they return to their land. In this imagery, God has put an end to oppression and led the people to victory.

And then Zephaniah says, starting in verse 19, 

And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 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. — Zephaniah 3:19-20

The imagery here is of people who have gone through a battle. They have been wounded, and still carry the scars of the battle. Along the way, they experienced defeats and setbacks. And although in the end, they were victorious, they are no doubt mourning and grieving their losses. And for whatever reason, they are carrying an element of shame. Think, for example, of a soldier who lost his leg in battle. Even if his side won, he has still experienced a personal loss. And maybe he is worried about how he will be received back home. 

But what does God do here in this image? God changes the people’s shame into praise. God gathers the lame and the outcasts, and interestingly enough, God doesn’t “heal” them. Rather, God changes the perceptions they have of themselves and the perceptions others have of them. God turns what we might consider a negative into a positive. Rather than living in shame for what we have done or failed to do, God takes our shame and turns it into praise for the victory that God has given us. 

An Invitation

And so this morning we have before us an invitation. An invitation to turn to the God who cares deeply and passionately about us. A God who loves us, who rejoices over us. A God who offers us grace and forgiveness for all those times when we’ve gone astray. A God who gathers us in, no matter what we’ve done or failed to do. A God who accepts us, wounded and battle-scarred though we may be. A God who removes our guilt and our shame. A God who sings and rejoices over us.

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to Today’s Sermon:

1. How does music or singing influence your sense of joy?
2. Zephaniah speaks of a God who rejoices over us with gladness and singing. How does this image of God compare to your current understanding?
3. Zephaniah’s prophecy shows God’s care through warnings and calls to repentance. How have you experienced God’s care in moments of correction or redirection?
4. The sermon describes God as someone who gathers the outcasts and turns shame into praise. Are there areas of your life where you feel like an outcast or carry shame? How can you invite God to transform those areas?
5. In what ways do you feel called to share the good news of God’s grace and forgiveness with others? How can you help others see that God cares deeply about them?