The Great Day of the Lord is Near

This meditation is based on a passage for November 2, 2010 in the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Zephaniah 1:14-18

Reflection and Question: Zephaniah’s words are in the style called “apocalyptic:” imagining God’s destruction of the world in response to human sin. In the Old Testament this genre predicted and explained the destruction of Jerusalem and exile of the people to far off places. Throughout the Bible, this day of the Lord, the apocalypse, is a time of darkness, wrath, anguish and devastation. God promised to Noah not to destroy the world by water, but Zephaniah sees the fire of God’s passion–what James Baldwin called “the fire next time.” How does such destructive, apocalyptic prophecy fit into your faith?

Prayer: God of all power and might, Zephaniah spoke thousands of years ago of the full and terrible end You would make on all the inhabitants of the earth. Thank You for not doing that yet. Spare us and all our children from the great distress. Amen.