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What 's Your Situation?
12.19.05 (8:26 am)   [edit]
Luke 1:5-25 (NIV)

This passage begins, “In the time of Herod, king of Judea...” (v. 5). When you think about it, that is all times. There has never been a moment when “Herod” was not on the throne. The dominant forces that limit our lives may go by other names, but their presence is a constant. And they limit us. They constrict our possibilities.

Barrenness is the same way. When Luke says of Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, that she “was barren” (v. 7), I can identify. I am not a woman, but I know the pain of being ineffectual.

Constriction. Limitation. These are human conditions. They make up our situation. Herod on the throne, barrenness: These are universal. When Elizabeth speaks in verse 25, she says, “In these days....” We know these days. They are the days of powerlessness in which we seem to have no control over our lives.

But helplessness is not the only constant in our situation. God is also present. We know that, but at the same time we don’t know it. Do you understand? We acknowledge it in ways similar to those of the “assembled worshipers [who were] praying outside” the temple while Zechariah went through the prescribed rituals within (v. 10). There is nothing wrong with this; on the contrary, we are wise to position ourselves through the “means of grace” (prayer, Scripture, worship, etc.) to receive whatever God may give.

But the fact remains that we are often surprised when God enters even our sacred space. The text says that Zechariah was “startled” by seeing the angel Gabriel, and he “was gripped with fear” (v. 12). So, even the “upright,” even those known for “observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations” (v. 6), do not expect to meet God intimately.

God is always there, however. Herod may be on the throne. We may suffer from barrenness. But God is always present. Sometimes, however, we have to be shown. That’s the word Elizabeth used. “In these days,” she said of God, “he has shown his favor” (v. 25, emphasis added).

I wonder, would it change me much if I could affirm that God’s favor has been revealed (“shown”) to me? Would I see all the “dis-grace” of my situation (Herod, barrenness) differently? Elizabeth did. “In these days,” she said, “he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace” (v. 25).

When I am tempted to see only the negative, I welcome reminders like this, that God’s favor is operative in my life. Perhaps you do, too. And isn’t it great when we have it “shown” to us? It may not change our situation, but it certainly changes the way we look at it.
 
A New Start
12.17.05 (7:41 am)   [edit]

Yesterday, I completed a two-day program with the Southwest Ministry Development Center in Dallas. It was an intense experience, and I was pretty much exhausted by the time I returned home last night. Despite the fatigue, however, I have a restored sense of hope. I learned some things about myself, some of which I liked and some of which I didn't. But I am ready to "own" both sets of characteristics, and I am ready to work on what needs changing.


Sensing a need to ground this feeling of renewed hopefulness, I turned again this morning to lectio divina. Unsure where to start in the pages of Scripture, I simply used one of the readings from the daily lectionary. There is something about this prescribed set of texts that seems to allow for the initiative of the Spirit in addressing me on any given day.


And God did speak to me today! The reading was Zechariah 8:9-17.  Its context is one in which the prophet is urging the people to rebuild the temple of God which has lain in ruins for a generation.  It occured to me that my task now is to build a habitation for God -- a temple, if you will -- in my heart, a place where God may dwell within.


The text then seemed to speak to me about the qualities of soul that I would need in working on this great project. The words that presented themselves to me were from verse 9: "Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built" (NIV).  Immediately, I saw two soul qualities in this verse, namely, resolve ["let your hands be strong"] and direction ["that the temple may be built"].


The passage as a whole seemed to suggest other qualities. I would need vision, and the vision of the text was to be found in verse 13:  "You will be a blessing.


Faith, too, would be needed -- a settled trust that God accomplish in and through me the task to which he was calling me.  Verse 12 provided the promise that would fuel my faith:  "The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew.  I will give all these things as an inheritance to" you. What more assurance would I need from God than this, that my efforts would prove to be fruitful?


Finally, I would need courage.  The Lord said through his prophet to his ancient people, not once but twice, "Do not be afraid" (vv. 13, 15).


As I meditated, I was working with the notion that these are qualities that I need, as though they are lacking.  But then I thought, "What if these are qualities that I already have?"  So, I affirmed this in my own mind and before the Lord.


In order to rebuild in my own life a holy habitation for God, a place for Spirit to do the great work of transformation in my life, I will draw on these qualities about which God says, "I will give all these things..." (v. 12):



  • Direction: "That the temple may be built" (v. 9).

  • Resolve: "Let your hands be strong" (v. 9).

  • Vision: "You will be a blessing" (v. 13).

  • Faith: "I will give all these things..." (v. 12).

  • Courage: "Do not be afraid" (vv. 13, 15).

I am excited about this new start. What a great goal it is to think of "building the temple," or, to put it in my own words, to create within a dwelling place for Spirit.