O Oriens – a day of festival

Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you, as on a day of festival ( Zephaniah 3:17-18)

I find this prophesy by Zephaniah very interesting. It is true that the prophesy speaks about what will happen to us ‘when that day comes’. However, at the same time, we get an insight into how God will respond on that day. This is what is interesting, we get to see how the almighty God will re-act on that day.

This information, though, causes us to reflect carefully on the manner in which we are going to do what we are going to do. Clearly, the festive season is not just about us, about us getting gifts and giving gifts. In all our rejoicing have we considered, when God sees all that we are doing, will he dance with shouts of joy over all that we are doing? The prophet, Zephaniah, is telling us, in a sense, that God too seeks to rejoice with us. He seeks to dance with us. He seeks to shout with us. He seeks to rejoice with us. In all our preparation thus far to celebrate the birthday of the Christ, have we considered these points?

O Rising Sun, splendour of eternal Light and sun of righteousness: come and shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.