The Coming of Our God and Savior

In today’s first reading, Zephaniah 3: 1-2, 9-13, the prophet Zephaniah issues a warning to us, saying: “Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted, to the tyrannical city!  She hears no voice, accepts no correction;  in the Lord she has not trusted, to...God she has not drawn near.  A time is coming when God "will...change and purify the lips of the peoples, that...all may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve [God] with one accord; from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and as far as the recesses of the North, they shall bring [the true God] offerings.”  We could insert the following: "From north to south, from east to west, from one end of the world to the other, "they shall bring [the true God] offerings" and give up their "rebellious and polluted," in short their idolatrous, ways.

Zephaniah is speaking to each one of us. In what ways have I been rebellious, refusing correction? In what ways have I polluted myself with selfishness, narcissistic pursuits, pride-filled resistances, deceptive ways and other means of saying “no” to God? To whose voice am I listening:  God’s voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit, the voice of truth, justice, mercy, understanding, compassion and love? Or am I responding to voices that promote hatred, judgment, condemnation, hopelessness, faithlessness, mercilessness, and violence (spiritual, physical, emotional, verbal) that pollutes the blossoming spirits of the young, of children and the poor?

Zephaniah says to us that on the day  “that the Lord will change and purify  the lips of the people, that they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one accord…you  need not be ashamed of all  your deeds, your  rebellious actions against me; for then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord...”

Zephaniah gives us hope, as we face a violent world, a world of hatred, sexism, misogynism, racism, and bigotry; as we face a world of injustice, a world where narcissistic, boastful  men and women seek power and control and wealth at the expense of the poor, willing to destroy anyone in their path to what they define as greatness, publishing false stories, alluring and deceiving  people by their outward charm and preposterous promises.  God is warning us, through the prophet Zephaniah, that He will “remove from your midst… proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain, but I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge [in My name], the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue...."

Hopefully you and I will be part of the “remnant” of people who have been purified of our pride, cleansed of our deceitfulness, and humbled and brought low before God; yes, people who have learned to “take refuge in the name of the Lord,” repentant of our rebellious ways!