Surely God’s Hand Is In This
Isaiah 52:7-10 Luke 1:57-80
Third Sunday of Advent December 13, 2009
There is an interesting parallel going on in the scriptures during this time period. Several weeks ago we heard the story of Hannah, who prayed for a child and then had her son, Samuel at a very advanced age. In response to God’s gifting her with him, she brought him to the temple once he was weaned, so that he might grow up serving God. Last week we heard the story of Mary’s encounter with Gabriel and her response to being told she was to give birth to the Son of God. This week, we focus in a bit closer on Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, who is also with child, thanks to God’s intervention. For Elizabeth, this child comes after a long, long time during which she and her husband, Zachariah, had about given up hope that they would ever have a child. In fact, when he was told the news by Gabriel, Zachariah scoffed saying he didn’t believe it. He and his wife were so old, there was no way they could conceive a child. The angel told him that he should know better than to scoff at what God could do, and promptly took his voice away for the duration of the pregnancy, presumably so he couldn’t scoff at God any longer. It isn’t until Zachariah affirms that his son’s name is to be John, going against all kinds of conventions with the decision, but upholding a promise he had made to God regarding the name of this special son, that he regains his voice.
When Elizabeth first realizes she is pregnant, she goes off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. I wonder what she was doing during her time alone? The scriptures don’t really reveal all that much about the nature of her time apart, except to say that the purpose of it was that she could simply enjoy knowing that she was actually going to have a baby. These days, we don’t tend to take much time apart, do we? We don’t tend to take time away from our busy, busy lives in order to reflect on what is going on in us and around us. Most times, we just plow on ahead, moving through days and weeks, even months and years with very little self-reflection. I wonder what we might notice if we took this kind of time every once in awhile? I wonder what it might look like if our lives were punctuated with periods of time that we purposefully stopped everything, got off the merry-go-round, and pondered who we are, where we are going and why? For me, a piece of this question is “what if we took time to look for the hand print of God in the things that happen to us and through us?” What might we notice if we looked for divinely-inspired patterns in the daily movement of our lives?
Advent is supposed to be a time when we really take time to reflect, to ponder, to be quiet, but this is rarely the case. With all of the increased activities around this time of year, we find ourselves with less time for the depths of these thoughts and musings, rather than more. And that is really too bad, because heaven knows we could use a break. We could use a break from the routine and from the hustle and bustle. We could use a break from the responsibilities we carry. We could use a break from the rushing around that is a part of what it means to be a member of this society. We have somehow bought into a frame of mind that encourages us to keep moving at all costs, to have something to show for our day. But what if we reframed things? What if we started a trend that valued simply being present with what is right in front of us? What if we allowed ourselves to really participate in this moment as fully as we possibly can? What if we set our sights on noticing what God might be trying to do through us and in us on any given day? What if we changed the assumptions, and instead of having something tangible to show for your day, you had some new insight? Wouldn’t it be interesting to start asking one another questions like, “what have you been contemplating lately - any new ideas to share?” What if the people we talked with at parties or over coffee wanted to know where we had seen God’s hand in our lives lately? Just think about the kind of conversation that could result from a question like this! - Although it might take awhile for it to catch on, and I can imagine there would be plenty of detractors who would prefer to keep conversations light and on the surface. There is real value in looking for signs of something larger than ourselves in the tapestry of our daily lives. We begin to recognize and really know deep down inside, that we are not the only one who cares about how we spend our time. And we also start to realize that even though we may have finished our formal education, we can still learn new things if we dare.
Even if we are not able to enroll all of our friends and acquaintances in the project of becoming more attentive to the hand of God, that doesn’t mean we have to give up. Maybe we could find one other person who would covenant with us to talk about these kinds of things when we get together; one other person who would ask us about the deeper aspects of our life and for whom we would return the favor. And if you can’t think of someone who might be willing to do this with you, then there is always the trusty journal. You could promise yourself that you would look for signs of God’s hand in your life each day, and then write them down on a regular basis. The important thing is to notice, to take time out in order to see and appreciate and soak it all in, because God does intervene in our lives all the time. I once heard Carolyn Myss say that miracles are for people who are not paying attention. The idea is that God is a regular and active part of our lives, and that if we are paying attention and looking for the signs of divine activity, then we will see them. If we don’t look around and notice the amazing things going on all the time, then we assume that God only intervenes once in a great while, and so we label those interventions, “miracles.”
Unlike Elizabeth, we may not be able to go off by ourselves for 5 months to relish some new going on in our lives or to look for signs of God’s intervention, but we can give ourselves the gift of carving out small windows of contemplation scattered throughout our days. We can determine to set ourselves apart from things every now and then in order to gain some perspective on everyday happenings.
God of promise and hope, you are a part of our lives in so many ways, and yet we don’t always notice. We pray that you will help us to take the time to recognize your hand print in our daily activities. May we also remember to offer our gratitude for these gifts that touch us every moment of every day. Amen.