Zepheniah 3:17

I was at a meeting this morning that filled me with sadness and even a little bit of despair. We were discussing one of the hot button issues in the church and near the end of the discussion talked about how maybe we aren't even talking anymore because we have come to the realization that we can no longer continue to agree to disagree and there will come a time when the church will split.
Part of me really thinks, let's get the split over with and move on to do what God is calling us to do at this time and in this place but this morning I was struck by a deep sense of sadness. A grief washed over me as I looked around the room and realised that if (or maybe when) we split that some of those in that room with me this morning would be on the other side of the split.
As I left the meeting I struggled with how I was called to be a person of faith and hope in the midst of turmoil and sadness. How do I continue to serve a church that I know will look radically different in the years to come? Will there be a place for me in this new church? How do I bring good news to God's people in the midst of it all?
This afternoon I returned to my sermon for Sunday. The traditional theme for this the third Sunday in advent is joy. A theme that I struggled with after this morning's meeting. So I turned to the texts to continue the wrestling match that through the work of the Spirit turns out a sermon. One of the texts for this Sunday is the end of the book of Zepheniah which includes one of my favourite verses Zepheniah 3:17
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you* in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
As I researched for Sunday's sermon I came across this passage in the introduction to Zephaniah in my Lutheran Study Bible:
"Zephaniah makes a call for trust in God as the sole guarantor of faithfulness and security."
And so I am renewed in God's love for another day. I continue the journey knowing that God rejoices over me with gladness and that I serve a God in whom I can put my trust. For God is the sole guarantor of faithfulness and security.
I continue to journey crying out O Come O Come Emmanuel.