Advent
December 7, 2015

Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20

The Lord has taken away the judgements against you,
   he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
   you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
   do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
   a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
   he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing –Zephaniah 3:15-17

Oklahoma ranks third* in rate of natural disasters among states in the USA. Texas and California are one and two and are both considerably larger in geography as well as population. Such a ranking is a dubious distinction. Just this week I had a huge old oak tree removed from my back yard that came down in high straight winds a couple of weeks ago. I spent the night in a hotel last week because my electricity was off, the result of a very strange ice storm that broke tree limbs and power poles but did not freeze the road. The promise of fearing disasters no more is thus very compelling for me and my neighbors.

Actually I am not sure fear is the response most of us have to natural disasters anymore, we have become so accustomed to them that preparedness before and quick cleanup after are rather automatic. I remember national news being surprised at how quickly Oklahomans responded to the Oklahoma City bombing. While it certainly was not a natural disaster, our experience primarily with tornados paved the way for our immediate response. I fear we are all now becoming likewise accustomed to disasters caused by humans. We even must deal with whether our weird weather could be our own fault.

I take solace in our scripture today that promises God’s renewal of God’s love for it is the source of God’s victory and ours. Advent is the season for us to return to God’s womb and be restored in love as we await the coming of the Promised One whose way is the path out of disaster.

Prayer: Lord, we relish the gift of your love, help us to open ourselves to it so that we might better love through our lives. Amen.

*Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.