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June 24th (Birth of John the Baptist)- Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Readings: Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalms 85:7-13; Acts 13:14b-26; Luke 1:57-80
Three men waiting in the room for expectant fathers waited for word on the arrival of their infants. Some while later a nurse comes in and announces to one of the men that his wife had just given birth to twins. “That’s amazing,” he said, “I play for the Minnesota Twins!” About twenty minutes later another nurse comes in and announces to the second gentleman that his wife had given birth to triplets. “WOW,” he stated, “I work for the 3M company!” Upon hearing that the third man fell off his chair and fainted - after those who were present were able to revive him, they all inquired as to why he had fainted. He said, “I work for the 7-UP company!”
Unlike Amos and Alice, and many of you, I haven’t had the firsthand experience of anticipating the birth of a child. But I do remember the last addition to our family that took place some 23 years ago.
I was five years old, and I already had two older sisters, who were 8 and 10 at the time. I had felt lonely as a little boy—my older sisters were in school already and I didn’t have anyone to play the kind of games that I wanted to play. I was hoping and praying for a little brother to play with, someone to play ball with, to play GI Joe’s with. I was excited to have someone new in the house.
My father came home from the hospital excited to share the good news…and I was excited to hear it.
“It’s a girl!” he exclaimed.
My heart sank. My hopes dashed. I was one crushed little 5-year old boy. Another girl!? Who ordered that? That’s not what I was hoping and praying for…I already had two older sisters…not another one! I didn’t get what I was expecting…
I wonder about John the Baptist’s parents sometimes—what were their hopes and expectations regarding their son? In keeping with Hebraic prophetic tradition, the would-be mother was barren and past the age of child bearing. But God intervened and delivered a promise of a son to Zechariah through the angel, Gabriel. This son would be special…listen to God’s promise found earlier in the chapter,
“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord…even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” (Luke 1:15-16)
Their son John would be a prophet—one who would be the mouthpiece of God that Isaiah talks about, “preparing the way of the Lord.” It must have been terribly exciting for this priest, Zechariah, and his wife as the due date drew closer. Not only were they going to have a son when they had lost all hope of having a child, but their son would have the blessing of God upon him and would have a special place in history. If I had been Zechariah I think the excitement itself would have welcomed. He was getting on in years, being faithful to God, and I wonder if he ever thought, “Is this all there is to life?” Wake up next to my wife, have breakfast, go to work in the Temple, go home…eat…sleep. Was this all God had for his life? Would he ever have the blessing of children to carry on his name and to take care of him and Elizabeth when they get older?
One of the troubling things about my age group is that for a variety of reasons we seem to be a group that gets bored easily—and many either just settle into a rut of behaviour that leads to nowhere, or possibly go from one extreme experience to another looking for new adventures trying to avoid standing still. One of the reasons for this, researchers believe, is because the way the economy has developed it becomes more and more difficult for young people to reach financial positions that would enable them to experience some of the basic life benchmarks. Marriage, child rearing, home owning—these things happen much later in life for us than for our parents because we’re paying off student loans or housing is simply too expensive. And I think there might then be a greater anticipation to achieve some of these things. Think about it, if you had to wait to get married until you were in your 30’s, you may spend your 20’s building up some kind of ideal of what it’s supposed to look like. And then when we finally do get married, or buy a house, or have a child, or get a new job, the novelty soon wears off and we wonder what all the fuss was about. Sometimes our expectations do not match the outcomes.
I’m sure Zechariah and Elizabeth were thrilled beyond imagination to have their baby boy, John. But I wonder how they felt as they watched their boy leave their home to live in the wilderness. I wonder how they felt when they found out his new diet involved eating locusts and bugs and his clothing was animal skins stitched together. I wonder if they knew what they were getting into when all the locals would laugh at their lunatic son for his bizarre behaviour and harsh message of repentance.
Disappointed perhaps? This child rearing thing wasn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. I wonder if they ever resented God for giving them a son that wouldn’t fit in with the other kids—who seemed to have his own path and didn’t care what others thought of him. I’m sure they were also proud of him and could see that God’s Spirit was all over his life. But still, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had days where they wished things had worked out differently. I’m sure they felt this way when they found out he had been killed by Herod for speaking against the king. Amidst their sorrow and despair I’m sure they were wondering why God’s ‘blessing’ would bring them so much pain and difficulty.
Every parent that I’ve ever known has experienced some degree of this pain in their years of child rearing. And most of you parents here today would probably tell me that things didn’t work out exactly as the way you’d planned. I often see the grief in your eyes when you tell me about your children and how many of them have strayed from the faith or have little interest in spiritual things. Or perhaps you’ve had to help your son or daughter out as they’ve made poor decision after poor decision. I also know that we all struggle from time to time with disappointments—the new job wasn’t what it was supposed to be, the pay raise didn’t come through, we didn’t get the house we wanted, marriage seems to be more of a stress than support some days…Sometimes life just isn’t what we’d hoped it would be.
I had hoped for a baby brother…and when I found out I had a little sister instead, I did what any severely disappointed five year old would do: I cried. I couldn’t believe I was stuck with another sister. But I tried to pull myself together as my dad gathered us up to take us to the hospital to see mom and this new little one. And something happened when I got there. I saw my baby sister. It was love at first sight.
Sometimes God has something better in store for us than what we’d hoped for. ‘Better’ doesn’t mean easier—as I’m sure Zechariah and Elizabeth would attest to—but it means that God can use the circumstance for his greater glory. The God who is in the business of redemption transforms our disappointing circumstances into opportunities to grow our faith and spiritual maturity and to display his love and provision to us and those around us. It means that the darkness of doubt and despair is made to flee when the ‘dawn from on high’ breaks upon us. It hasn’t always been easy being a big brother to my sister, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. God blessed me through her, even if I couldn’t see it at first.
As God used John the Baptist to prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival and message, so too does he use us to demonstrate to the world his goodness and love—even if, and especially if, things don’t work out in the ways that we’d planned. In fact, God’s message is made to look even more powerful, more convincing, when it is delivered out of painful and difficult circumstances.
If you’re sitting in disappointment this morning, bring it to God as you approach his altar. And know that God has blessed you and will continue to be present with you, even when it seems the gifts he gives us are hard to manage. Take comfort in that you are not alone, and God will be faithful to transform your life and those whom you love as trust in him and commit to living life according to his plans and purposes. Your life matters—and how you handle your disappointments can be a powerful witness to those around you.
My these words prophesied by Zechariah over his son John be a promise to you whenever you find yourself wrestling with the challenges that God’s blessings sometimes bring us:
“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.” (Luke 1:78-79) Amen.
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