Monday, December 21, 2020
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Coming Home
At that time I will bring you home, and at that time I will gather you; for I will give you renown and praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring about your restoration before your very eyes, says the Lord.
We yearn to go back to a place and time of innocence. We miss the elders who peopled our childhood years. We look for comfort in old, familiar places. Zephaniah reminds us today that all of these dreams are already fulfilled.
God says: Rather than see the world around you as chaos, come to me so that I might give you rest. Rather than look at what is missing in your lives, consider all that you are and have. Rather than look for consolation, turn to others who need your consolation. This is the gathering Zephaniah describes to you. This is the restoration he proclaims. It is the healing I bring to each of you when you decide to live and think and act in me. You do not have to wait for the death of your body to experience this coming home to me . . . you are already there. Put aside your chores and your worried for a little time . . . and come to me. I have much I wish to give you.
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Time, people and places. We feel nostalgia as we recall good memories and ward off the bad. We re-create in our mind’s eye the faces of loved ones we can no longer see or touch. We close our eyes and conjure up the scents and aromas of those places we thought we had lost but that we now somehow find in an old reminiscence. God’s time is eternal; God brings all of us together in the Mystical Body of Christ; God is in all places at all times. When we join this great coming home . . . all of time, all the faithful, and all places come together in union with this God who loves us so much that he chooses to live among us. Zephaniah tells us that when we come home to God we are already there in those times and places we miss, we are already there with all of our beloved.
In this last week of Advent when the day of Jesus’ birth nears, let us consider for a time the renown and praise that we are already given by God. Let us consider the renewal this season brings to us. And let us go gladly to take part in this gathering up and this coming home.
For more reflections on the words of the prophet Zephaniah, enter his name into the blog search bar and explore.
Images from: http://www.thefellowshipsite.org/zephaniah-317.html
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