Blog
Third Sunday of Advent
God Shares in Our Joy
Zephaniah 3:14–20
Luke 3:7–18
by Janjay Innis
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
—Zephaniah 3:17–18a
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
as on a day of festival.
I am bicultural. I was born and have spent more than half of my life in the United States, but my ethnicity is Liberian, West African, and I had the privilege of spending my early formative childhood years there. One thing I love about my Liberian culture and perhaps African culture is that singing and dancing are always the response to good news. Have you graduated, passed the bar exam, got married, had a baby, reached retirement, crowned as mother or father of the year (that’s a thing in my culture), overcome difficulty? Whatever the victory, there is singing and dancing. In fact, the singing and dancing will be accompanied by a walkway of our beautiful fabrics (called lapas) laid for you like a red carpet to celebrate on. When I read Zephaniah 3:14–20, particularly focusing on verse 17, I am taken back to the euphoric moments I have had alongside my people, and equally so; I am in awe of God who overturns expected calamity with the promise of sharing in joy and leading the celebration of God’s people.
Today, wars are raging from Sudan to the Middle East, political divisions are at an all-time high, and the grief of loss from natural disasters and illnesses loom over us. As we look for God in this season, what a gift to know and dwell in the reality that God will not only thwart the harm in our way. God will fiercely advocate for us when our backs are against the wall. “I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. 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 3:20).
I want to sing and dance and celebrate in response to and with a defender, friend, and God like that.
Prayer
God of All Joy,
In this third week of Advent, we wait with expectation for your promises of restoration and peace. You are the God who turns sorrow into celebration, shame into praise, and despair into hope. In a world of division and loss, we seek your presence, trusting in you to bring justice and renewal. Prepare our hearts for the joy of Christ’s coming.
Amen.
Janjay Innis grew up United Methodist. She is a Communications Specialist and a consultant for United Women in Faith.
The photograph is from the 2024 Daily Prayer Guide.
