Author: Administrador

The third Sunday of Advent traditionally has a focus on joy. And, indeed, almost all the texts for this Sunday speak of joy. Our reading from Zephaniah sets the tone: “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” (3:14). The prophet piles on the exhortations … Continue reading “Zephaniah 3:14-20 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

This reading from Zephaniah is marked by hope, rejoicing, and reprieve, but it comes from the end of a three-chapter book in which the first two chapters consist of horrific warnings. Zephaniah prophesied early in the 7th century BCE, about 50 years after Isaiah and before Jeremiah.1 The rulers previous to Zephaniah’s time had generated … Continue reading “Zephaniah 3:14-20 Commentary by Melinda Quivik”

What would happen if God interrupted us? What if God barged into the midst of our daily lives, if God made God’s presence known? How would you feel? How would you respond? What change would God’s presence bring? The prophet Zephaniah wrestles with these very questions. In Zephaniah’s visions the presence of God brings both … Continue reading “Zephaniah 3:14-20 Commentary by Anne Stewart”

Zephaniah threatens that God will annihilate all living things due to human wickedness. His words evoke the ancient Flood in the days of Noah: “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the LORD. I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air … Continue reading “Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 Commentary by Carolyn J. Sharp”

My wife and I attended a Scottish Episcopal church in St. Andrews, Scotland. New to liturgical worship from our free-church background, we fell in love with the church’s liturgy during our time there. As one of my colleagues likes to say to liturgical detractors, “Which part don’t you like? The prayers part or the Scripture … Continue reading “Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 Commentary by Mark S. Gignilliat”

Helen Keller was once quoted as saying, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all — the apathy of human beings.” And, the great Jewish political activist Elie Wiesel said something similar, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The … Continue reading “Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 Commentary by Eric Mathis”

When have the sainted people to whom you preach ever heard a sermon based on God’s timeless word to Habakkuk? This week is their chance. Do not let them down. The Message of the Book When a lectionary-based pastor preaches on a book like Habakkuk, the challenge is really to preach the whole book, rather … Continue reading “Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”

When have the sainted people to whom you preach ever heard a sermon based on God’s timeless word to Habakkuk? This week is their chance. Do not let them down. The Message of the Book When a lectionary-based pastor preaches on a book like Habakkuk, the challenge is really to preach the whole book, rather … Continue reading “Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”

“I resolved to expound this prophet Habakkuk so that he, too, may finally come to light and that his contents may be learned…” So wrote Martin Luther in his preface to the book of Habakkuk in 15261, and it would be a grand thing if preachers followed Luther’s example and preached this minor prophet this week. … Continue reading “Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 Commentary by Karl Jacobson”

“I resolved to expound this prophet Habakkuk so that he, too, may finally come to light and that his contents may be learned…” So wrote Martin Luther in his preface to the book of Habakkuk in 15261, and it would be a grand thing if preachers followed Luther’s example and preached this minor prophet this week. … Continue reading “Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 Commentary by Karl Jacobson”