“God of the second chance”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, December 13, 2021
Zechariah 1:7-17 (Forward, p. 45) CEV p. 964
Once again, we have a passage with a confusing array of details, such as be quite perplexing for our modern, uninformed minds. What are we to make of an angel (or is it a man) standing in the midst of a grove of myrtle trees? (It helps us not one iota to know, as my footnote tells me, that the myrtle was an evergreen shrub, which in ancient times was a symbol for fertility and renewal). And, what are we to make of the four horsemen, who had roamed the entire earth to see what is happening? (It is more than intriguing to discover that they found the entire world living at peace. When in the world has that ever happened?) I am afraid that none of this speaks to me at all. So, what then can we get from this passage?
Later, the angel asks God the all-important question, namely when would He ever going to show mercy upon His people in Jerusalem and Judah? God’s answer is described as kind and comforting. Wow. He says that, in spite of His earlier anger with them for their disobedience and evil ways, He will turn and have pity on them, and will in fact, rebuild and restore them. Not only will the city and the towns be rebuilt, but even the Temple will once again stand among them.
To me, this underlines an important Biblical truth, namely that God is always more than ready to forgive and restore. No matter what we have done, no matter how we have strayed away, He is always ready to give us a second chance (or maybe, even a third or four one—or more) and welcome us home again.
The beloved parables of Luke 15 reveal a couple of profound and essential truths. As in the case of the lost sheep and the lost coin, God knows our weakness and inability and takes the initiative to seek us out and restore us. And, as in the case of the lost son, He is ready and waiting, waiting expectantly, for us to show even the least readiness to return to our rightful homes and His loving embrace. In fact, in what would be considered back then to be a dreadful, disgraceful, and unseemly lowering and discarding of one’s fatherly dignity, the father in this parable loses all sense of propriety. He yearns after the wayward boy, constantly searching the horizon for a glimpse of him. And then, when he finally spots him, madly bolting out,
meeting him on the way, and embracing him. This is before the astounded, and probably amazed and perplexed boy can barely get a word out. Such is our God, our God of the second chance.
Many people over the years have said to me, ‘No, I’m too far gone. No, God could never, would never, accept such a one such as me.’ But that is not true. No matter who we are or what we have done, God is always ready and willing to welcome us back. In fact, He tries to make it easy for us. All that He, the God of second chances, waits for is our slightest step, our first step on the way back to Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “Proclaim further: Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem” (verse 17).
“Years ago, my husband and I took a turn toward simplicity when it came to Christmas gifts. Instead of indulgence, each family member would get four gifts: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. Although it is a privilege to even be able to buy presents for one another in the first place, it’s also been a way to buck systems that dare us to believe that buying more somehow equates to being more too.
“When I read through today’s passage in Zechariah, I am reminded that prosperity doesn’t necessarily mean monetary riches. Peace and mercy are repeated over and over again. These promises offer a fuller picture of God’s intention for the place and people God can’t help but love.
“In a season that sometimes feels like it’s marked more by darkness than by light, we are invited to sit with the truth of prosperity and pray on the prophesy that our world be marked by mercy and peace, once and for all.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Write the words ‘peace’ and ‘mercy.’ Use the first letter of each word to name a person or place you pray peace or mercy will be found.”
