Offing the Autopilot Luke 1:59-63

“On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, ‘No! He is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘There is no one among your relatives who has that name.’ Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John.’” (Luke 1:59-63) NIV

Random Thoughts: 

Not being Jewish or a scholar of ancient Jewish tradition it is still apparent that something shocking is happening here. Tradition is about to be inconvenienced by God’s plan (a sure-fire way to create tension if ever there was one). 

Tradition presumes that the child be named after its father, Zechariah, despite God's instruction through Gabriel that the child’s name will be John, (Jochanan) a Hebrew name meaning “Gift of God”. Elizabeth doesn't faulter; she chooses God over Tradition. Citing its rules and regulations, however, Tradition, like an insistent child told “no” by its mother, turns to its father to get the answer it wants to hear. But Zechariah, too, says, “no”. 

Zechariah’s name means “One who recites, one who remembers” in reference to the priests who recite and remember the great things and promises of God. Amazingly, the one who bears that name-sake, the one who had doubted God’s ways in the temple, reveals that he’s had a very significant change of heart. He, too, chooses God over Tradition. God over human reasoning. Zechariah has remembered that God’s ways are not our ways. And he chooses wisely.

We are sometimes caught in this same struggle. Running our lives in a state of spiritual or cultural “auto-pilot”, we do what we do because it has always been done that way before. It’s tradition. It's habit. But sometimes, for God’s purposes we are called to change course which may look odd to our spiritual family or the culture around us. Maybe even suspicious. Let’s face it, change is uncomfortable. It doesn’t conform to need for control and security. We like knowing what comes next! The funny thing is that the Jochanan’s in our lives--those miraculous “gifts of God” purposed to show us God’s amazingness--only happen when we turn off the auto-pilot of habit or comfort and trust God to take us from there. 

Group Hug Luke 1:54-58

“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy and they shared in her joy.” (Luke 1:54-58) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Israel was many things throughout their long relationship with God but faithful and obedient were usually not among them. I have often heard that God chose the people of Israel to carry His message of hope to the world because if He could work through them and still love them and forgive them, he could love and forgive just about anyone. Including us.

Israel, God’s “problem child”, is such a great reminder that we, who are anything but perfect, can still count on His love to redeem us despite our histories, our choices, our “issues”. And the great part is, when He follows through, scooping us up and dusting us off, showing us mercies we do not deserve and sharing gifts with us we never dreamed we’d have, we get the opportunity to share that great news with others. 

Elizabeth and Zecharias can’t help but celebrate that a child born to them in their old age was also, at last, the fulfillment of God’s promise to rescue humanity. It had finally come. God’s promises could be trusted and they celebrated with neighbors and friends. God’s work in their lives was not a “private” part of their lives--something to be hushed out of polite regard--it was shouted from the rooftops. Shared joy. A group hug. And shared knowledge that God keeps His promises.

Humble Pie Luke 1:51-53

 “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” Luke 1:51-53 (NIV)

Random Thoughts:

God is a god of the Underdog: the poor, the hungry, the weak, the small. We know from biblical stories throughout human history that He delights in taking the most unlikely-to-succeed and defeating the naysayers, the skeptics and critics. Those who face overwhelming odds can take hope because He is still their champion. He is on their side. 

But why? Is there something wrong with achievement? Hard-earned bank accounts? A strong work-ethic and can-do attitude? A Ph.D. and a Lexus to go with it? Is God not a god of the “successful” too?  Yes. And no.

God is a god of anyone who has the humility to see Him. Difficult times simply make that easier to achieve. The bruises of life’s hard knocks have a way of teaching us a life-saving lesson: God is god; we are not. But how hard that reality becomes when we, the well-fed and blessed, begin to feel so self-reliant. So self-sustaining. So “I”. 

Pride blinds us to our need for the “I AM”, it tells us we can live life on our own terms, that we are wise enough to know the ways of eternity and the rules that govern it. It’s offspring are distain and contempt. And it is deadly. Pride pushes away the only source of peace our souls truly crave: a restored relationship with the One who made us. Only humility enables us to accept the gift of grace God provides. It alone satiates our soul’s hunger for significance; it alone lifts up our heads with dignity in ways “achievement” never can. 

Heart and Soul Luke 1:44-50

“‘As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’ And Mary said, ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations shall call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me--holy is his name.” (Luke 1:44-50) NIV

Random Thoughts:

There is such overwhelming joy when we fully surrender to God’s will for our lives, to give in to that gift He has prepared for us and designed uniquely for His purpose. When we say “yes” to His call, it delights our hearts even though it may also frighten us or overwhelm us to take on that task. Each of us has a unique heart design that beats all-the-faster when we give it permission to respond to its intended purpose. Mary’s faithful response to God’s call certainly blessed her heart, her soul and her spirit.  

When Jesus later teaches “blessed are those who believe yet have not seen”, he is stating a truth about the nature of a fully trusting faith. Those, like Mary, who can embrace God’s promises, surrender to His call and step out in obedience experience a freedom of spirit and joy. She and Elizabeth seem giddy with it! They are filled with joy; they are filled with God’s promise. Literally and figuratively.

And perhaps most amazing to Mary--and hopefully to us--is not even that God is about to restore what was lost long ago in the garden of Genesis, but that He is bringing humanity’s greatest gift through her. God our Savior, the Mighty One is “mindful of the humble state of his servant”. The Ruler of the Universe is mindful of a young girl--just as He is mindful of us, knows us and has a cherished purpose for us--this kind of God is beyond belief. This kind of God knows every sparrow, every hair on our heads. This kind of love brings us to our knees in gratitude for the great things He has done. How blessed we are, then, to answer when He calls us. “Holy is His name”.

Elizabeth Reigns Luke 1:39-43

“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’” (Luke 1:39-43) NIV

Random Thoughts:

We may often feel that we are on a blind mission for God, doing some work He has asked us to do but without seeing how all the pieces fit or what the finished work will look like. But while seeing the final product may be our frustrated desire, God does not leave us alone to wander in the dark. 

God, understanding our needs so well, often provides a partner (or two! or three!) to share in our life’s experience, one with human hands, heart and voice to shore us up and share the load. Like His provision of Eve for Adam, God knows it isn’t good for us to be alone. Elizabeth could not have been more perfectly suited to understand Mary’s miracle pregnancy. 

I love too that Elizabeth’s enthusiasm is so plain to see. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she excitedly and openly rejoices to see Mary, knowing that her young cousin is carrying God’s long-promised gift. In Elizabeth God provides Mary both an empathetic and affirming partner, attributes she would have greatly needed given the circumstances.

Saying "I Do" Luke 1:34-38

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:34-38) NIV

Random Thoughts:

God is not afraid of our questions or offended by the curiosity behind our desire to understand. Unlike Zecharias, Mary doesn’t doubt God’s ability but she does wonder aloud about the “how”. Her curiosity is met with a gentle response and the additional assurance that she is not alone in this experience; God has already performed a miraculous conception for her cousin Elizabeth. God’s word never fails.

I love that God does not demand blind, lock-step obedience from his children. In his patience and mercy, He answers our questions when He can and invites us to trust Him and to partner with Him in the work He has uniquely designed each of us to do. Love is a choice; it cannot be forced or demanded. Love is also an action. Mary listens to God’s message and chooses love in response. She will trust. She will believe. 

Eeyor's Corner

I have just realized I may have misnamed my blog; it should have been named "Eeyore's Corner". With titles like Bah Humbug, Get Used to Disappointment, Turning to the Dark Side and Reality Bites, it only makes sense. But then what to do with those bits that are bit more, well,  cheery? A Spring in My Step? Happy 133rd Birthday George? Miley and Me?  I suppose it's not entirely all Eeyore. I must be part Pooh.

Cattle Crossing Luke 1:29-33

“Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will conceive an give birth to a son and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:29-33) NIV

Random Thoughts:

We often think of God in such familiar terms but when we read passages like this we are reminded that God is also frightening, as are the angels who stand in His presence. I love the line in The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe where Lucy asks if Aslan is safe. “Safe? Who said anything about safe?” replies Mr. Tumnus. “But he’s good.”

God is Holy and that aspect of His nature is not safe. No one can stand in his presence and live. In our modern, individualistic, western culture we emphasize God’s approachability but forget that it is only because of His sacrifice through Christ that we are able to come to Him at all. Mary’s fear was well-founded and Gabriel needed to reassure her that God’s intentions toward her were good. 

Moreover, the angel, quoting the prophetic scriptures she would have recognized, tells her the long-awaited messiah is to come through her. The one all of Israel had been waiting for was about to enter human history and God had chosen her to be the mother of the great Deliverer. Jesus, “God with us”. 

Question:

When have you felt weak or inadequate to a task God is calling you to do? Did you want to refuse God’s call  for being too risky and “unsafe”? Were you able to move forward, trusting, instead, that God is good? Or are you at such a crossroads of decision right now?

Journal Response:

My husband and I are plenty talented between us. Wiring our house? No problem. Building an addition? Yep. Put in a fireplace? Oh, yeah. Replace all the plumbing? Okay--that was hard but we eventually did it. 

But when God tapped me on the shoulder one afternoon as I listened to a radio broadcast about purchasing little girls out of slavery in Ghana, I stopped short. I didn’t have money. Nope, not my problem. 

I dismissed God’s nudge but it wouldn’t go away. For several days my thoughts returned to the broadcast and I began to get angry. How was I supposed to help these children? It cost $100 per child to purchase them out of the Trikosi practice of forced slavery to their village priest. How was I going to get that kind of money?  

God’s counter was quick and to the point. “For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills...The world is mine and everything in it.” (I have since learned these words came from Psalm 50:10-12). 

Well that was just great, I remember telling Him in response. He may have all the riches of the world at His disposal but I did not. And still God would not let me go. I finally threw up my hands in surrender, no longer pushing it away but now daring to ask, “What am I supposed to do?!” It was my husband who gave me the answer. “Ask.” --Ask the missions board at our church if they would provide the money. 

Ever the doubting Thomas, I reluctantly agreed to try. My husband attended their next meeting, made a request and they listened. A few days later, I had my response. Each month a benevolent offering is collected and dedicated to a special need following the service. I was asked to write a bulletin announcement explaining about the girls and that would be that. No pleas from the pulpit. No special announcement. Just one short paragraph inserted among the many in our Sunday’s weekly guide.

So I wrote it. And I prayed over it and I asked God to provide the cattle on a thousand hills. This was His idea, after all, not mine. I crossed my arms, duty done, and waited to see what He would do.

God does not disappoint. That day marked a new record in church giving. $10,000 was given to Every Child Ministries. 100 little girls and all their children born to them were ransomed out of the traditional Trikosi practice that has since been outlawed. I didn’t have $10,000 but God did. I had words. I had a heart to help. God put them together and did the rest.  

 Nothing is impossible with God.

Because You're Worth It Luke 1:26-28

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:26-28) NIV

Random Thoughts:

God works in the most unimaginable places, times and people. In all of human history He chose to send Gabriel to the moment just before Israel’s final defeat as a backwater country in the third world of the Roman Empire and to a unwed teenager in a village notorious for being on the wrong side of the proverbial “tracks”. To the mind of those awaiting a messiah to restore Israel to it’s place among the nations of the world, it would all seem wrong. Even ridiculous.

And to the lowest of the low--an unmarried girl with no status in her culture--the angel’s appearance could not have seemed more out of place. Then Gabriel uttered the surprising words, “you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you.” What the world did not see or value, God did. More wonderful still is the knowledge that He continues to see and value what the world cannot--even to the very last one of us He calls Son or Daughter.

We are all invited, pursued by God from the time we are small, and assured by Him as we enter a relationship with Him that we, too, are precious. No matter our social standing, our age or place in time or purpose His love for us as our Father becomes the foundation of our identity. His promise to be with us becomes our assurance that our purpose to live for Him is not in vain. 

When Seeing is Believing Luke 1:21-25

“Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a  vision in the temple for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1:21-25) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Never one to waste an opportunity (even a mess of our own making), God demonstrates to Zechariah that His power not only extends to the wonders of the universe but even (yes hard as it can be to imagine) to human physiology itself. Like something out of a Cosmic Biology 101, God wields His power over Zechariah’s voice, communicating by its absence all the more loudly to the people waiting for news outside the Temple that God is very much at work.

News of God’s power would have spread even more once people learned that barren Elizabeth, far into her old age, was with child. God had left no room for what-if’s; this child was a miracle child from His hand alone. In Elizabeth’s weakness--her older age and barren history--His power became irrefutable. 

As John would grow to become an usual prophet--eating locusts, wild honey and living in the dessert, no less--the miraculous aspects of his birth would have assured those around him that whatever his unorthodox ways, his words and his message were from God Himself. 

Silence is Golden Luke 1:18-20

“Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because youdid not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”  (Luke 1:18-20) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Even “righteous” people have their moments of weakness. They have times of doubt about God’s ability even when God’s promises are coming from the mouth of an archangel.  

And while Zechariahs’s unbelief costs him a tongue-lashing--(no pun intended), God did not deny him the answer to his life-long prayer. He still gave him a son that set in motion the salvation of the world. God will do whatever it takes to work through us (yes, even our weakness) to accomplish his ultimate purposes. Even our moments of doubt are not enough to make him give up on us. Even more mercifully, He will do what it takes to restore our faith in Him. Zechariah wanted proof that he could believe Gabriel wasn’t kidding? He got proof.

Preparing the Way Luke 1:15-17

“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the power and spirit of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. "  (Luke 1:15-17) NIV

Random Thoughts:

John was one in a long line of biblical, larger-than-life personalities who were chosen by God for the special task of preparing the people for rescue. And the Jewish nation had much to be rescued from:  Babylonians, Philistines, the Assyrian Empire and, most often, themselves. He was a Nazarite, set aside for a special purpose, to begin the process of God’s ultimate rescue of all people for all time. 

John’s job description, however, was not to be the rescuer. That’s was God’s job in the form of Christ. But John’s work was still essential: to call God’s people back to himself, to remind them of truth and how to live it so they would recognize the ultimate Truth when He came in the form of Jesus.

Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Luke 1:13,14

“But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth.”  (Luke 1:13,14) NIV

Random Thoughts:

How many years had Zechariah and Elizabeth poured out their hearts for a child? Now in their old age, years had stretched into decades and decades into a lifetime. But the angel tells Zechariah that his prayer had been heard. His “prayer”. Even now, when most would give up hope, it appears that Zechariah had chosen his great and shining moment, serving the Lord in the Holy of Holies to offer up a prayer. And his prayer had been for a child. 

Despite how things appear, despite how we may feel or what we are prone to think, God is listening. Sometimes he says “no”, sometimes he says “yes” and sometimes he says “not yet...”

The Chosen One Luke 1:8-12

“Once, when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him,standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him he was startled and was gripped with fear.” (Luke 8-12) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Once a year hundreds of priests from all the cities and towns in Israel would descend on Jerusalem to see who would be chosen to enter the temple’s most formidable and sacred, Holy of Holies. It was the highest honor a priest might experience once in a lifetime. It was also a terrifying task that moved worshippers to pray outside for the safety of the one offering incense to a holy god within. 

Getting Off My High Horse Luke 1:5-7

“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zachariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lords’ commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both well advanced in years.”  (1:5-7) NIV

Random Thoughts:

As humans, limited in our perspective and understanding, we often miss the mark when it comes to recognizing the things that God values most and we subsequently measure our "success" in ways he never intended. In Zacharias and Elizabeth’s day--as in ours--there were widely held presumptions of what it meant to be spiritually “acceptable”. For many of us today, the badge of spiritual shame that we try to avoid at all cost is parental failure (explained so well by the recent article in Christianity Today's ,  The Myth of the Perfect Parent ). Some things never change. In the ancient Jewish culture, being unable to bear children was the ultimate parental failure, thought to be God's curse and punishment for sin.

Barreness was a condition that would not only have brought enormous grief to the childless couple but shame on them in the eyes of their community, a shame so unacceptable that by law, Zacharias could have divorced his wife for the “offense”. Yet Zacharias chose to love his wife and stay by her side, to endure derision and smug speculation by those more fortunate.

But we are also told this couple was righteous in God’s sight, a term that denoted maturity of faith. Contrary to what others would have assumed--that they were “unacceptable” because of a sin that resulted in barreness--that fact was that in God’s sight they were wonderful because their hearts were right. They loved God and they served him faithfully, observing all his commands despite being denied status and respect within their community through no fault of their own. 

Truth Still Matters Luke 1:4

“...so that you may know the certainty of things you have been taught.” (1:4) NIV

Random  Thoughts:

Yes, this is only one verse and only one half of a verse at that but I think it’s pretty key. It answers the whole reason why Luke is writing and maybe even the whole reason we need to not just think we believe something but really know we do. 

Truth matters. Facts matter. Accuracy matters. It shapes what we believe and how we live as a result. As much as I want to believe I am still 25, my graying hair and creaking bones are revealing a truth that even L’Oreal can’t completely cover. So I take my vitamins, color my hair and have accepted the fact that merry-go-rounds make me nauseous. 

Luke is about to tell a story that if believed, will change people’s lives forever. It will subject them to hardship and persecution, loss of jobs, ridicule, rejection by their families and even death. It is a story worth living and dying for. And so he tells us that what we are about to hear is for the purpose of being certain that what we have been told is true.

Shouting from the Rooftops Luke 1:1-3

“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us. Just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus” (V. 1-3, NIV)

Random Thoughts:

" Many...draw up an account of things fulfilled among us..eyewitnesses.."   It just comes naturally to tell others about things that we’re excited about--things that impact us personally. Lose weight on a great new diet? “Mum”’s not even the word. Parenting tip that is changing chaos into calm? I’m shouting from the roof tops! We love to talk about those things that change our lives and people are often drawn to the enthusiasm that goes with it.

LIkewise, Luke  is preparing his reader--and us--to hear firsthand accounts of how Christ impacted their lives, changing them forever in their understanding of who God is and who they are because of Him. 

But the importance of sharing what God is doing in our lives (the way He is changing us and the moments when he astounds us) hasn't changed because His work hasn't stopped. These things are not relegated to ancient history. Christ’s work in our lives is a living history and we are invited to tell the story that is also our story.