Advent 3, Week of December 13, 2009 - Zephaniah

Zephaniah 3.14-20

And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth. (Zephaniah 3.19)

Prophets see what others cannot; they proclaim what others dare not; they shout the words that we do not want to hear. In the opening verses of his book, Zephaniah sees a Jerusalem filled with pride, ignoring God’s commandments, and pronounces a judgment they do not want to hear: “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth.” (Zephaniah 1.1)

But he also sees that this is not the end of the story. After the oracles judge Israel for its sinful idolatrous behavior and announce a cosmic destruction, Zephaniah looks beyond her failings and sees a future the people cannot imagine—a future of hope and joy, a time when God will stand with them, protecting them from all danger, freeing them from their oppressors.

Zephaniah’s heirs, the people of the Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem have claimed their own prophetic voice. Where the view from Bethlehem is a 24-foot high wall, the people of the Lutheran Christmas Church see beyond the wall. In a town where going to work means a 2-hour wait in line to get through the checkpoint, these people hear Zaphaniah’s prophecy and build a college for the young people of Bethlehem. Where I saw empty hotels and shuttered stores, they see a future when their town will once again be a bustling pilgrimage site for Christians from all over the world.

Founded three years ago, Dar al-Kalima College offers degrees in tourism and media production. It provides practical skills and hope for the future for Christian and Muslim young people of Bethlehem. The people of the Lutheran Christmas Church are building, not for what they CAN see—the rubble and barbed wire closing all but a couple of the roads into Jerusalem. They are building for a future they CANNOT see—the future God has promised in these words of Zephaniah. A promise to all God’s people—Israeli and Palestinian—as they have seen it embodied in Jesus Christ. Photo shows instructor and student at Dar al-Kalima College.

I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth……A promise also for Hannah, living in Jerusalem on the other side of the wall, the Israeli grandmother I met who sees her grandchildren losing their compassion during military training that teaches them how to shoot Palestinian children who throw stones at them. Hannah stands at the checkpoints and monitors the soldiers’ behavior, helping Palestinians get through when they are denied passage for no reason. Zephaniah offers Hannah a promise that will change her shame into praise.

I will change their shame into praise….And a promise for Americans like me who sit by while our tax dollars provide weapons and ammunition and bulldozers that kill Palestinian children and destroy their homes…..a promise that God will change our shame into praise.

Read more about Dar Al-Kalima College in Bethlehem

Gracious God, we have sinned against your good intentions for your creation. We have made a mockery of your peace, with our insatiable need for comfort and security, which has made us deaf to the cries of your people who desire freedom. We rejoice that you have not abandoned us, that your mercy extends even to us in our disobedience. Help us to follow in your ways of peace and understanding and renew us in your love. Amen.