An Analyst's view of Luke pt. 2
Luke 1:5-20
Growing up in the church, I was always taught to be honest, but not fully transparent. Sure tell the truth, but don't offer everything in your life up for scrutiny. I say "teach" but in reality, I saw it modeled more than taught. I would see people living in sin, just as messed up as I was, and then see them model a "perfect sunday" outwardly. Both in the church I grew up in and in the church I went to after. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, so to speak, but I do want to talk about this alarming trend. We see in verses 8-10 that the priests were following wrote devotion and doing their "duty." In fact, the scripture says in verse 8 "Once when Zechariah's division was on duty... he was chosen by lot (kind of like "drawing straws")." The fact that the leaders of the church setup a system to randomly select someone to serve as the one who lights the incense, is absurd. But not far from what we do now. Here Zechariah is chosen to basically lead worship and lead in the people in worship and commune with God. But the Levites treated this as a form of religious ceremony rather than the opportunity of his life. This is often how we treat our normal services that we attend. Whether Sunday, Wednesday, or any other day/time; we treat them as a time to socialize with our friends and spend time singing fun songs or watching a pretty light show. We are sadly, pathetically wrong. I say we purposely. I am just as guilty. Worse in fact, because I play bass guitar on the worship team. I want good sound, good lighting, and good songs that I can worship to regardless of the words. We treat it like the Levites of Zechariah's day. Is it really so bad to fake it? I think sometimes we get the idea that "faking it" is a permanent condition of the heart. But the reality is that if we fake it, only until we make it, and allow God to change our hearts in the process, we stop faking it and allow true Romans 12 transformation. Faking it should be only a last resort. By that, I mean it is only an ignition source for heart change. We have to spend time in the bible, spend time praying (without ceasing), spend time with friends and Godly mentors. We have to listen to sermons and worship music, we have to interact with and seek the presence and guidance of the father. But if we haven't done it, or haven't in awhile, faking it can cause much help. A final word of caution. If you are faking it too often, and feel conviction about faking it, you need to have a chat with the father and find out how to get closer so you don't have to fake it anymore.
So we read about this wrote, religious ceremony that Zechariah is facilitating. Then woosh, Gabriel shows up and starts some ruckus. He starts telling Zechariah about his son John and (paraphrasing) Zechariah's response is "I am an old fart, and my wife is not a spring chicken either." Verse 18 says, " 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.' " Right, like that will work. Every person before Zechariah's time had experiences with God well into the hundreds of years. Look at Noah, for example, he was 100 before he got God's calling to build the arc. He built it for 100 years, and lived longer. Look at Abraham, the father of the modern (well more modern than Adam or Noah) Israelites. He was into his 100's before he was a father, and his wife was up there too. This is my point; mark it well. I have at times, as has anyone who desires to be involved with God directly, pushed to try and reach my end journey in faith. Most often, it is because of some sick, twisted sense of being left behind that the enemy is trying to peddle. "You are 31 now, much to old for whatever God has planned." We need to wash that talk right out of our heads with the promises of God. He is the great God, He loves his children (you and me). Is anything too difficult for God? When GOD's Timing is right, it will happen. I have to constantly remind myself of this fact. Maybe I will learn things on the way, maybe I am able to handle it now, but that's not the point. Even if it's God's plan, if it is NOT God's timing, it is not God's plan. Remember this: Advanced in years doesn't mean "Too advanced in years to be used by God."
When I was a boy, I used to talk all the time. I would talk nonsense to anyone who would listen. I must've liked the sound of my own voice because most often, it was not anything worthy of keeping record of. But as I grew older, I kept talking. Eventually, I started putting words together that made sense. I would talk to try and convince people that I was right, or that I was worthy of respect. Have you ever talked and talked to people trying to get them to see your side? Have you ever tried convincing people that you know what you are talking about? Or complained to someone in confidence that you are just "so frustrated because you know you are right and no one will listen to you?" I have to admit, most often, my point is not thought out well, not fully articulated, or not fully right. In those cases, I, like many of us, need to learn the value of silence. This is spelled out clearly in verses 19-20
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 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. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 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. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power 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.” 18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 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. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
Introduction
I am back again with another look at The book of Luke. I decided, though, to use my analytical view of the book rather than using the Physicians perspective. I decided to do this for two reasons. One is because I do not know that view point so my suppositions will always be lacking in depth. Two the other reason is I see that hook going nowhere past Luke 1. So instead, I have chosen to focus on the way my brain works. I am going to try and blog at least once a week. If I can do more, I will.Fake it till you make it
Growing up in the church, I was always taught to be honest, but not fully transparent. Sure tell the truth, but don't offer everything in your life up for scrutiny. I say "teach" but in reality, I saw it modeled more than taught. I would see people living in sin, just as messed up as I was, and then see them model a "perfect sunday" outwardly. Both in the church I grew up in and in the church I went to after. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, so to speak, but I do want to talk about this alarming trend. We see in verses 8-10 that the priests were following wrote devotion and doing their "duty." In fact, the scripture says in verse 8 "Once when Zechariah's division was on duty... he was chosen by lot (kind of like "drawing straws")." The fact that the leaders of the church setup a system to randomly select someone to serve as the one who lights the incense, is absurd. But not far from what we do now. Here Zechariah is chosen to basically lead worship and lead in the people in worship and commune with God. But the Levites treated this as a form of religious ceremony rather than the opportunity of his life. This is often how we treat our normal services that we attend. Whether Sunday, Wednesday, or any other day/time; we treat them as a time to socialize with our friends and spend time singing fun songs or watching a pretty light show. We are sadly, pathetically wrong. I say we purposely. I am just as guilty. Worse in fact, because I play bass guitar on the worship team. I want good sound, good lighting, and good songs that I can worship to regardless of the words. We treat it like the Levites of Zechariah's day. Is it really so bad to fake it? I think sometimes we get the idea that "faking it" is a permanent condition of the heart. But the reality is that if we fake it, only until we make it, and allow God to change our hearts in the process, we stop faking it and allow true Romans 12 transformation. Faking it should be only a last resort. By that, I mean it is only an ignition source for heart change. We have to spend time in the bible, spend time praying (without ceasing), spend time with friends and Godly mentors. We have to listen to sermons and worship music, we have to interact with and seek the presence and guidance of the father. But if we haven't done it, or haven't in awhile, faking it can cause much help. A final word of caution. If you are faking it too often, and feel conviction about faking it, you need to have a chat with the father and find out how to get closer so you don't have to fake it anymore.
Advanced in years
So we read about this wrote, religious ceremony that Zechariah is facilitating. Then woosh, Gabriel shows up and starts some ruckus. He starts telling Zechariah about his son John and (paraphrasing) Zechariah's response is "I am an old fart, and my wife is not a spring chicken either." Verse 18 says, " 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.' " Right, like that will work. Every person before Zechariah's time had experiences with God well into the hundreds of years. Look at Noah, for example, he was 100 before he got God's calling to build the arc. He built it for 100 years, and lived longer. Look at Abraham, the father of the modern (well more modern than Adam or Noah) Israelites. He was into his 100's before he was a father, and his wife was up there too. This is my point; mark it well. I have at times, as has anyone who desires to be involved with God directly, pushed to try and reach my end journey in faith. Most often, it is because of some sick, twisted sense of being left behind that the enemy is trying to peddle. "You are 31 now, much to old for whatever God has planned." We need to wash that talk right out of our heads with the promises of God. He is the great God, He loves his children (you and me). Is anything too difficult for God? When GOD's Timing is right, it will happen. I have to constantly remind myself of this fact. Maybe I will learn things on the way, maybe I am able to handle it now, but that's not the point. Even if it's God's plan, if it is NOT God's timing, it is not God's plan. Remember this: Advanced in years doesn't mean "Too advanced in years to be used by God."
The Silence is Deafening
When I was a boy, I used to talk all the time. I would talk nonsense to anyone who would listen. I must've liked the sound of my own voice because most often, it was not anything worthy of keeping record of. But as I grew older, I kept talking. Eventually, I started putting words together that made sense. I would talk to try and convince people that I was right, or that I was worthy of respect. Have you ever talked and talked to people trying to get them to see your side? Have you ever tried convincing people that you know what you are talking about? Or complained to someone in confidence that you are just "so frustrated because you know you are right and no one will listen to you?" I have to admit, most often, my point is not thought out well, not fully articulated, or not fully right. In those cases, I, like many of us, need to learn the value of silence. This is spelled out clearly in verses 19-20
"19 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. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time."In this story, we see Zechariah in a similar situation to me. Speaking out of turn, not fully thinking through what he is saying. Here he asks an angel to basically "prove it." You have to understand that in this situation, God decided to let the silence speak volumes to the family. He had to carry out his work, carry out his life at home, carry out his relationships with friends and family in utter silence. this is amazing to me because he manages to pull it off, then when John is born, his first words CONFIRMED what God had said through Gabriel previously. I always imagined that this was back to back events. But the reality is even if Elizabeth was pregnant, or about to be pregnant with John, Zechariah would have had to wait at least 9 months! That is a long time to not speak at all! Sometimes the silence is deafening for a reason. Don't ruin what God is doing by speaking your own thoughts, limitations, humanity into a situation that may just simply require silence. Selah.
Comments
Post a Comment