• Zephaniah 3:14-20

The boy-King, Josiah, had grown into a great reformer and restorer of Temple worship in Jerusalem. (It was during his reign that the Book of Deuteronomy was ‘discovered’ in a box and read publicly on the King’s orders.)  The prophet Zephaniah supported Deuteronomic reforms at home and pronounced severe judgment against Judah’s foreign enemies.  This hymn invites singing and celebrating, because “the Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies.”  The actual King of Israel is the Lord, the prophet insists, who will be “in your midst” at “that time.”  The presence of the Lord will be easy to recognize: the lame and the outcast” will get relief.  “Other nations will see that the Lord has done in Israel.”

• “The First Song of Isaiah” (Isaiah 12:2-6)

Isaiah contended with a very different king than Zephaniah, King Ahaz, who dealt with Israel’s enemies ineffectually and ignored Isaiah’s prophecies.  The writings which compose the canonical Book of Isaiah swing dramatically between severe condemnation/judgment and ecstatic hope for a deliverer.  This hymn opens with an affirmation of allegiance to the Lord, “my stronghold and sure defense.”  On “that day” give thanks to the Lord who was known by past deeds, but now “the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.”

• Philippians 4:4-7

This excerpt from Paul’s’ letter to the Philippians names one specific cause for joy: “the Lord is near.”  Overcome anxiety with prayer and thanksgiving, which leads to “the peace of God, which passes all understanding….”

• Luke 3:7-18

Luke’s narrative maintains the tradition of the other gospels that a significant part of the preaching of John the Baptizer was judgment against lax and distracted attention to God’s priorities.  In this excerpt, John blasts those who came out to see and hear him.  He challenges them: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  He preemptively dismisses any claims of safety from God’s judgement they might make as “children of Abraham.”  Alarmed, they ask, “what should we do?”  Only Luke provides a specific, concrete answer to that question: share your clothing and food with those who are in need.  The narrative continues with several representatives of those who would have been the least likely to be interested in John’s message– a tax collector and some military/police officers of the Roman Empire.  “Even one tax collector came to be baptized,” we are explicitly told.  John tells him to treat his neighbors and citizens with fairness and decency.  The military/police officers ask what they should do.  Do not abuse your authority by taking bribes or intimidating citizens, John responds.  The crowds begin to wonder if John is the Messiah.  He affirms the importance of his work, but assures them that “one who is more powerful than I is coming.”  “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  This One will have the power of final judgment.

Biblical texts shuttle seamlessly between the past, present and future.  Remembrance of God’s past deeds which saved the faithful against seemingly overwhelming odds is celebrated perpetually.  The future in biblical texts celebrates “that time” of final and complete fulfillment.  In the meantime– right here, right now, this messy, frustrating present–– there are occasional glittering shards of that past/future presence of God’s mercy, justice and goodness.  Crucially, the same trait dominates both the remembrance of the past and the expectations for the future — justice, perfect justice– and, simultaneously reveals how God’s presence can be experienced in the present!

Zephaniah notes that God’s presence can be reliably known whenever “the lame and outcast” get relief.  Typical of Luke, his portrait of John the Baptizer includes this episode unique to his narrative and includes some very unlikely characters in small, but pivotal speaking roles.  In response to John’s dire warnings, a tax collector– the stock character for that slimy little tyrant/traitor  who exploits his power over others for greedy personal gain– is told to give half of his clothing and food to those who need it.  Some soldiers with policing authority are told to stop terrorizing their neighbors, citizens and those whose neighborhoods  are being occupied by the Roman Empire.

Jean-Luc Marion has thought about the dynamic between past-future-present/presence in biblical texts this way:

“Faith is organized according to the past requisites of Revelation, through tradition.  Hope unfolds in accord with Revelation’s obligatory future through mission.  There remains the present– the here and now– of Revelation, the instant ceaselessly proposed anew, in which we are able to see whether and to what extent we are becoming disciples of Christ.”  “Contrary to the certitude of faith, which requires time for perseverance (St. Augustine) and the final revelation of what we are already (Colossians 3:3-4), and unlike the certitude of hope, which will only find its reward in the last days (Matthews 24:42/51), charity waits for nothing, commences right away, and is fulfilled without delay.  Charity manages the present.”  (Prolegomena to Charity, p. 154)

The faithful passionately engage in charity/justice not with a ‘realistic’ expectation of success, but filled with the “joy” and “peace” that come only from powerful memories of God’s past success linked inexorably to the promise of “that time” of final fulfillment.  In this meantime, the present, God’s presence is palpable, concrete, definite, immediate in my acts of charity/justice.  “…The great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel,” the prophet announced.  “That time” of past glories and future completion can be present here and now.   Where there is justice/charity, God’s past and the future are present/presence!  “Charity manages the present.”