Monday, December 16, 2019  

Today’s Scripture Reading  |  Zechariah 2:10–11
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. (NRSV)

Reflection
“Shout and be glad.” I’m an editor, so I note that this a command, not a suggestion. God is telling me simply to rejoice. I’m usually much better on the thanksgiving side of things than the rejoicing side of things. I see thanksgiving as an action, something I can do in the moment. Rejoicing seems more like a mindset, a way of being, with some action (“Shout!”) thrown in to express it. My mind is too often taken up with the here and now, the world being too much with me. To step back and see the whole story in the midst of carpools and climate change, conference calls and calls for racial justice, takes some work, a reordering of my perspective.

But that reordering is what God is ordering. God is reminding me that he has already established the narrative. The verbs are strong and sure. Jesus will come and live among us. People from all over the world will unite to become his people. In just a few short sentences, God is reminding me that God knows how this story will end, and he wants me to, too. All I have to do is rejoice and be glad. Indeed, I can!

Prayer
Holy God, as I move through this Advent season, thank you for the reminder that you have already written this story and that I can trust the ending. I rejoice in your power and grace. Amen.

Written by Lisa Stracks, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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