Word to the Wise
Monday, December 21, 2009 - Monday in the Fourth Week of Advent
[Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18A and Luke 1:39-45]The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said in Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior. [Zephaniah]
The prophet, Zephaniah, was trying to encourage those who had returned from exile in Babylonia! How would they be able to keep up their spirits in the midst of the ruins and challenges that confronted them? This prophecy was still important in Jesus' day to the Jews because they were still under the domination of pagan power. The Christian community found in these words an important foretelling of the birth of the savior and his subsequent deliverance of humanity from domination by sin. One of the principal reasons that I often call attention to the crib scene in this season is to remind myself and all who read my words that Zephaniah's words are fulfilled in the figure of the Christ child in that scene. The Lord is indeed in our midst, a mighty savior. No matter how glorious or humble the figurines, the person of the Christ child is the important reality. In the frantic rush of the next few days, a few moments each day in contemplating that figure may help us to put it all in perspective! AMEN
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