I Am With You Always

The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love. (Zephaniah 3:17)

The Jewish people had abandoned Yahweh to worship sun and moon.  They faced the wrath of the prophet who warns that a day of doom will befall them.  Zephaniah promises that an angry God will destroy the earth and vanquish sinners, whose “blood shall be poured out like dust, and their brains like dung.”  By the third book, Zephaniah recovers his pastoral voice.  A prophet must not poison the people’s spirit.  Harsh threats do not bring life.  The prophet reminds the people that God is in our midst.  We are not forgotten.  “Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!”  God’s tenderness is always present.  It does not wait until we shape up and prove our worth.  We could not face our failures alone.  God is at our side and rejoices over us like parents sing to their babe.  Our being evokes God’s song of joy. 
In the psalm, Isaiah says to cry out with gladness. When do we shout for joy?  Students pour onto the court after an upset victory and whoop it up.  Kids at play squeal in excitement.  The swell of the church choir might shake the rafters.  Mainly we are quiet.  We scour the horizon for good reason for a joyful yell.  But the news is gloomy, so we grumble and groan. When will that laggardly light finally dawn?  John the Baptist tells the anxious crowd to mend their ways as we await the light.  Seek repentance, travel light, share our surplus, and avoid corruption.

Father Greg Boyle, S.J., finds light in the darkness.  He works with young people in L.A. who have endured abandonment, abuse, neglect, prison, and violence…trauma exceeding that of soldiers back from combat.  Father Greg knows that he could never carry their burdens. Recovery at Homeboy Industries takes a path of being loved before milestones like sobriety or employment are reached.  The light is already present.  If we are mindful, we too will stand in awe. God’s splendor is here in each beloved.

Dropping this enormous inner burden of judgment allows us to make of ourselves what God wants the world to ultimately be: people who stand in awe…Readying oneself for awe, at every turn, insist that compassion is always the answer to the question before us.  (Greg Boyle, Barking to the Choir, 57).