The Father's Song
God's expression of Joy at his children returning home!
We’re approaching the Third Sunday of Advent. It’s the week of Joy! And the lectionary passages for the week are:
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18
I really like the Zephaniah passage:
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 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. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. 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. 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.
I like it for several reasons, but one really stands out. Zephaniah tells us that God will rejoice over his returning people with loud singing! It strikes me that the Lord would be so happy for his people returning from captivity that he would essentially throw a party and sing about them and to them. Yet, at the same time, because of where his people have returned from, and the struggles they would have had to worship and follow God in that country, I also picture God singing over his people during that captivity as a parent sings a lullaby to their tired and worn out child.
Christy Nockels pictures this verse in a beautiful way, in the song Sing Along. The words of this song are powerful:
From babies hidden in the shadows
To the cities shining bright
There are captives weeping
Far from sight
For every doorway has a story
And some are holding back the cries
But there is one who hears at the night
Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
So we can join in your song
And sing along yeah,
We'll sing along
The song the Father sings depends upon the season we are in. During times of struggle and hardship, captivity and brokenness God sings over us as a parent to a child. But when we get home, either through death or Christ’s return, God will sing over us at a welcome home party!
But today…there are also people in very real captivity, be it the sex trade or actual slavery or some other reason. And there are others bound to their sin or are captive because of the brokenness of life.
So what if we partnered with God, partnered with the Spirit, and together worked to help bring them “home,” into a place of spiritual and physical freedom. And like the Father who longs for his children to be with him, we can join in with the Father’s song of joy!
Let us hear their cries, listening for the pain of those who are hurting. We have a solid hope that provides us a foundation of joy. We can share that hope and be an extension of the Hope heard first through the birth of a baby in a season called Christmas.