Exultation

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Exultation

Joyful     Heartfelt

Renewing     Acclaiming     Proclaiming

What Should We Do

Pray

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:     Zephaniah 3:14 and 17

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing with JOY, O Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

The Lord, your God, is with you, a mighty savior; he will exult with you in gladness, and renew you with God's Love.

Philippians 4:4 to 7

Sisters and brothers: Rejoice in the Lord at all times. I will say it once more: rejoice! Your caring should be known by all. The Lord is close to us. Have no worries at all, but in all things, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your needs known to God. Then the peace of God that goes beyond all understanding will protect your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 3:10

The crowds asked John the Baptist, "What should we do?"

Reflection

Zephaniah is literally bursting with JOY! He is rejoicing so much that the joy comes out of him.

It is a joy that causes Zephaniah to exult with his heart. You might ask, "Why all this JOY?"

Zephaniah tells us clearly: the Lord is in our midst. God is with us. How can we not rejoice?

When we become aware of that presence, we allow God to renew us with God's Love. 

We feel the Love.

We are moved.

How can we contain that type of JOY?

In Philippians we are told to rejoice always! We look at that and say how is that possible?

We can rejoice sometimes---when things are going well, when we get good news, when our favorite sports team wins, when a child is born!

But always!

That seems like a real stretch for us!!!

Philippians gives us a key: our caring! When we truly care for each person and respect the dignity of each person, the JOY that Jesus wants to share with us can transform us.

Prayer leads us into that caring and that rejoicing. It also leads us into a deeper understanding of peace.

In Luke we hear the people in the crowd asking John the very important question: "What should we do?"

When we have that JOY, when we spread it always with our rejoicing, when we are aware that we live in the presence of God, when we know that peace that goes beyond all understanding, we know what we should do!

The formula is simple: share what we have with others, be honest, spread the Good News.

Kathy's photo shows us the power of that LIGHT: Jesus is with us! 

1. Have you ever been bursting with JOY like Zephaniah?

2. How do you feel when you become aware of the presence of God?

3. Is it really possible to rejoice always?

4. What should we do?

5. What do you feel when you contemplate Kathy's photo?