Peace
Commentary
Note: This was originally published in 2012.
The theme that winds through the three passages for this week is that of peace. If we listen to the words of the prophets and the evangelist, we will learn not only what needs to happen for the world to be at peace. We will achieve inner peace -- living peacefully in a world that is seldom a peaceful place. The two prophets, Zephaniah and John the Baptist, warn of the need for repentance. Without recognizing what part we have played in creating the chaos that surrounds us, we cannot hope for peace. We need to turn around, live our lives as God has designed us, or the world will continue on a spiraling path of doom. Paul, on the other hand, is speaking to those who have already repented and become part of the community of faith. Once we have turned away from those things that tempt us, once we have turned to face God, we will find that the old life we were leading fades away. As we walk with God, we will know that while God loves us unconditionally, God also puts demands on us for good behavior. Break the rules, and we will surely suffer, because every action has consequences. Live in love, and peace will surely follow.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
We make a mistake if we read the third chapter of Zephaniah without the understanding that the first two chapters are a warning to Israel. They are under judgment, along with the rest of the nations. In those first two chapters, the prophet says that God has seen how his people are behaving, and since they are unrepentant, he has found them guilty. The language is that of the legal process. God, as the righteous judge, vows to do away with those who came to worship with an arrogant attitude, those whom we would today call "self-righteous" and says he will populate the country with the humble and unassuming folk. These latter are the people to whom God makes his promises of safety and peace in this third chapter.
Although the Old Testament prophets often did predict the future (this is what Zephaniah is doing, after all -- the punishment has yet to be applied, the people are still in their sin), their main function was to call the people of God back from the places of temptation: the search for wealth, fame, comfort, status -- and above all, a sense of control. This last temptation (the need for control) led the ancient people of God into pagan rituals and fertility ceremonies, in which they sought to make certain that their lands, livestock, and wives were fertile and their futures secure by engaging in sex with temple prostitutes and even making burnt offerings of their own children (see 1:4-6). They felt perfectly free (and perhaps even compelled) to engage in these practices because they had come to believe that "God neither rewards good behavior nor punishes the wicked" (1:12c).
This is a good "jumping off place" for a sermon this Advent. The Jews of Jesus' day were not so dissimilar from today's people, even many Christians, in these sentiments. It is not a new situation that so many people do not believe that God is involved in the events of this world. Nor is it only modern Christians who have a hard time trusting that God will protect us in times of trouble.
Philippians 4:4-7
The passage from Philippians adds a grace note to all of this. "Rejoice in the Lord always," says Paul. If we keep our face turned to God, thanking God for all we have and are, we will not stumble into arrogant ways. Arrogance arises when we forget that we are never completely self-sufficient. God is always in charge and those things that seem to be the result of our own hard work may never have happened if we had not received the necessary things at the right moment. If we follow the practice that Paul has laid down -- praising God in whatever state we find ourselves -- we will always be aware that we are never completely on our own.
All three of these passages have one more point to make: It's easier to be at peace when we don't count on our things to make us happy. If we look to the Lord, we will be at peace. Our sense of well-being does not depend on how we are doing financially or socially. An important message in these times.
Luke 3:7-18
John the Baptist stands squarely in this prophetic tradition. He is preaching first to those Jews who arrogantly proclaimed "we are children of Abraham" as though this were sufficient in the eyes of God. John has an answer: "God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." It is more important to God that we do good than to lay claim to a relationship to God, especially an inherited relationship.
As with Zephaniah, John warns of penalties to be paid for acting against God. When they ask if he is the Messiah that they are eagerly anticipating, he says Messiah comes not as he has, with a water baptism, but with a winnowing fork in his hand and a baptism of fire.
The image is one that the people would know well from the yearly threshing chores. The wheat would be gathered in and beaten with flails or stepped on by mule or cow to separate the heads of wheat from the stem. Then the winnowing fork would be used to separate the straw from the grains. The heads of wheat would be shaken in large baskets to remove the inedible parts from the berries themselves. As they are shaken, the chaff, which is lighter than the wheat itself, is tossed into the air and blown away with the wind. When the wheat has been stored in clay jars, the refuse is then burned.
This has to be done carefully, because the water content in the wheat is about 20% at threshing time. This makes for dangerous conditions. Even a lamp near the threshing floor can ignite the tiny particles. When the threshers set fire to the leftovers they have to take care to stay away from the flames, because they are covered in the powder that fills the air on the threshing floor. This powder gets into hair and beard, covers the clothing, and even gets in the nostrils, ears, and eyes of the workers. If the workers get too close to the fire, whatever powder still clings to them can ignite in a blinding flash.
Judea being mostly an agricultural society, this scene would be very real to those listening. The juxtaposition of the winnowing fork and the fire would not be an abstract as it is to most of us living in an urban society today. Even today, though, fires are still a danger to those working at loading and unloading wheat into and out of grain cars and silos.
So it's not difficult to believe Luke when he says that John's preaching was so powerful that people came from miles around to hear him. Even the Roman soldiers took his words to heart, asking what they had to change about their lives (3:14). The recognition that we need to change is the first step in repentance -- the act of stopping to think about where we are headed. But it is not enough. To repent means literally to "turn around" from the path we are on and look God in the face. Only when we are looking at God in this way are we able to see ourselves clearly. Then we must follow through in doing what God wants us to do, i.e. "produce fruit in keeping with repentance. . . [because] every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (vv. 8-9).
Even those who were despised by the Jews, and who did not live according to the law -- the tax collectors and the Roman soldiers -- came to listen and ask how they should live. John is explicit: "Be content with your wages. Don't extort money [from those you police]." This is applicable to both these groups. The Romans despised being in Judea and despised the Jews they were to keep under control. We know from ancient texts outside the Bible that Roman soldiers could commandeer any Jewish male to carry his backpack for him for a mile. When breaking up a dispute on the street, it was not uncommon for the soldier to threaten both parties with being called before the governor -- a frightening prospect, because they could not expect to be treated well in the Roman system. To get out of this situation, often both parties were quite willing to pay a bribe to see to it that the entire incident would be forgotten. At least for the moment. Unfortunately, there was always the unhappy possibility that the soldier would ask for more later. Who would the courts believe -- the soldier or the Jew being blackmailed?
To the tax collectors, there is an even more difficult admonition: "Collect only the taxes you must." This was a hard piece of advice to follow, since tax collectors were not paid by Rome, but collected more money than the empire required and kept the extra amount for themselves as their pay. Most tax collectors lived extremely well as a result, even if they were despised by their own countrymen as traitors. Yet, if they charged only what Rome wanted, what would they live on? And if they left their position in order to do as John said, who would hire them?
The theme that winds through the three passages for this week is that of peace. If we listen to the words of the prophets and the evangelist, we will learn not only what needs to happen for the world to be at peace. We will achieve inner peace -- living peacefully in a world that is seldom a peaceful place. The two prophets, Zephaniah and John the Baptist, warn of the need for repentance. Without recognizing what part we have played in creating the chaos that surrounds us, we cannot hope for peace. We need to turn around, live our lives as God has designed us, or the world will continue on a spiraling path of doom. Paul, on the other hand, is speaking to those who have already repented and become part of the community of faith. Once we have turned away from those things that tempt us, once we have turned to face God, we will find that the old life we were leading fades away. As we walk with God, we will know that while God loves us unconditionally, God also puts demands on us for good behavior. Break the rules, and we will surely suffer, because every action has consequences. Live in love, and peace will surely follow.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
We make a mistake if we read the third chapter of Zephaniah without the understanding that the first two chapters are a warning to Israel. They are under judgment, along with the rest of the nations. In those first two chapters, the prophet says that God has seen how his people are behaving, and since they are unrepentant, he has found them guilty. The language is that of the legal process. God, as the righteous judge, vows to do away with those who came to worship with an arrogant attitude, those whom we would today call "self-righteous" and says he will populate the country with the humble and unassuming folk. These latter are the people to whom God makes his promises of safety and peace in this third chapter.
Although the Old Testament prophets often did predict the future (this is what Zephaniah is doing, after all -- the punishment has yet to be applied, the people are still in their sin), their main function was to call the people of God back from the places of temptation: the search for wealth, fame, comfort, status -- and above all, a sense of control. This last temptation (the need for control) led the ancient people of God into pagan rituals and fertility ceremonies, in which they sought to make certain that their lands, livestock, and wives were fertile and their futures secure by engaging in sex with temple prostitutes and even making burnt offerings of their own children (see 1:4-6). They felt perfectly free (and perhaps even compelled) to engage in these practices because they had come to believe that "God neither rewards good behavior nor punishes the wicked" (1:12c).
This is a good "jumping off place" for a sermon this Advent. The Jews of Jesus' day were not so dissimilar from today's people, even many Christians, in these sentiments. It is not a new situation that so many people do not believe that God is involved in the events of this world. Nor is it only modern Christians who have a hard time trusting that God will protect us in times of trouble.
Philippians 4:4-7
The passage from Philippians adds a grace note to all of this. "Rejoice in the Lord always," says Paul. If we keep our face turned to God, thanking God for all we have and are, we will not stumble into arrogant ways. Arrogance arises when we forget that we are never completely self-sufficient. God is always in charge and those things that seem to be the result of our own hard work may never have happened if we had not received the necessary things at the right moment. If we follow the practice that Paul has laid down -- praising God in whatever state we find ourselves -- we will always be aware that we are never completely on our own.
All three of these passages have one more point to make: It's easier to be at peace when we don't count on our things to make us happy. If we look to the Lord, we will be at peace. Our sense of well-being does not depend on how we are doing financially or socially. An important message in these times.
Luke 3:7-18
John the Baptist stands squarely in this prophetic tradition. He is preaching first to those Jews who arrogantly proclaimed "we are children of Abraham" as though this were sufficient in the eyes of God. John has an answer: "God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." It is more important to God that we do good than to lay claim to a relationship to God, especially an inherited relationship.
As with Zephaniah, John warns of penalties to be paid for acting against God. When they ask if he is the Messiah that they are eagerly anticipating, he says Messiah comes not as he has, with a water baptism, but with a winnowing fork in his hand and a baptism of fire.
The image is one that the people would know well from the yearly threshing chores. The wheat would be gathered in and beaten with flails or stepped on by mule or cow to separate the heads of wheat from the stem. Then the winnowing fork would be used to separate the straw from the grains. The heads of wheat would be shaken in large baskets to remove the inedible parts from the berries themselves. As they are shaken, the chaff, which is lighter than the wheat itself, is tossed into the air and blown away with the wind. When the wheat has been stored in clay jars, the refuse is then burned.
This has to be done carefully, because the water content in the wheat is about 20% at threshing time. This makes for dangerous conditions. Even a lamp near the threshing floor can ignite the tiny particles. When the threshers set fire to the leftovers they have to take care to stay away from the flames, because they are covered in the powder that fills the air on the threshing floor. This powder gets into hair and beard, covers the clothing, and even gets in the nostrils, ears, and eyes of the workers. If the workers get too close to the fire, whatever powder still clings to them can ignite in a blinding flash.
Judea being mostly an agricultural society, this scene would be very real to those listening. The juxtaposition of the winnowing fork and the fire would not be an abstract as it is to most of us living in an urban society today. Even today, though, fires are still a danger to those working at loading and unloading wheat into and out of grain cars and silos.
So it's not difficult to believe Luke when he says that John's preaching was so powerful that people came from miles around to hear him. Even the Roman soldiers took his words to heart, asking what they had to change about their lives (3:14). The recognition that we need to change is the first step in repentance -- the act of stopping to think about where we are headed. But it is not enough. To repent means literally to "turn around" from the path we are on and look God in the face. Only when we are looking at God in this way are we able to see ourselves clearly. Then we must follow through in doing what God wants us to do, i.e. "produce fruit in keeping with repentance. . . [because] every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (vv. 8-9).
Even those who were despised by the Jews, and who did not live according to the law -- the tax collectors and the Roman soldiers -- came to listen and ask how they should live. John is explicit: "Be content with your wages. Don't extort money [from those you police]." This is applicable to both these groups. The Romans despised being in Judea and despised the Jews they were to keep under control. We know from ancient texts outside the Bible that Roman soldiers could commandeer any Jewish male to carry his backpack for him for a mile. When breaking up a dispute on the street, it was not uncommon for the soldier to threaten both parties with being called before the governor -- a frightening prospect, because they could not expect to be treated well in the Roman system. To get out of this situation, often both parties were quite willing to pay a bribe to see to it that the entire incident would be forgotten. At least for the moment. Unfortunately, there was always the unhappy possibility that the soldier would ask for more later. Who would the courts believe -- the soldier or the Jew being blackmailed?
To the tax collectors, there is an even more difficult admonition: "Collect only the taxes you must." This was a hard piece of advice to follow, since tax collectors were not paid by Rome, but collected more money than the empire required and kept the extra amount for themselves as their pay. Most tax collectors lived extremely well as a result, even if they were despised by their own countrymen as traitors. Yet, if they charged only what Rome wanted, what would they live on? And if they left their position in order to do as John said, who would hire them?
