“A God of surprises”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, June 24, 2024
Luke 1: 57-80 (Forward, p. 57) CEV p. 1055
According to the popular understanding, there had been no genuine prophetic voice for roughly 500 years, that is, from the time of Malachi until the coming of John the Baptist. It was if God had deserted His people, or, at very least, ceased to speak to them. For some, it had been a time of waiting, as we will later see in the cases of Anna and Simeon, for others, it had morphed into a nationalist messianic longing, and with still others, they come to expect nothing of God, and had virtually given up, deciding instead simply to live their lives ‘on their own’ without worrying too much about God.
And so the situation of Elizabeth and Zachariah, and the miraculous birth of their son, came as a total, ‘out of the blue’ surprise. The parents, and indeed the entire community, had come to ‘write off’ them as prospective parents given their ‘track record’ and their advanced age. Who would have ever thought it? No wonder Zachariah doubted.
But not only was the birth of John a total surprise, but so too were its circumstances: the visit to John by the angel Gabriel, the fact of Zachariah being struck dumb (for nine months, no less), the giving of the name John to the boy (not a family name), and then Zachariah’s outpouring of praise in the words we know as the Benedictus. All of this came as a surprise.
However, lest we dismiss all this simply as something of another time and place, let us consider how our God is the very same God, and is still the God of surprises. Maybe God wants to do a new work right now, right in our midst and right amid this unruly, fractious, difficult, and hurting world. Let us then, not be doubting as was Zachariah, but waiting expectantly as were Simeon and Anna. Who knows what our God, the God of surprises, might ‘pull off’?
Forward notes: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (verses 78-79).
The Nativity of John the Baptist
“Each week when I entered the prison chapel, Milton, an inmate for 17 years, stood and held several slips of paper with handwritten scripture verses. ‘Take one and read it,’ he offered. And I’d make a spectacle of choosing just the right one. As I read, Milton recited the scripture from memory and then blessed me, ‘God is faithful; walk in love and peace.’ As inmates trickled in, Milton did the same ritual with them. Word around the chapel was that the scripture we each chose was what we needed to hear.
“Was Milton a prophet in prison blues? Yep. He made us pause, even for a moment, to reflect on God’s handpicked message for us. For me, Milton’s verses were sometimes convicting, hitting me between the eyes or, more often, saturating my heart with God’s grace. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Milton gave light to those who sat in darkness and guided them in the way of peace. He was a reminder of Jesus, the light, and to do likewise.”
Moving Forward: “Who are the prophets in your life?”