Holden Evening Prayer Homily
June
24, 2020
Please pray with me,
God of the prophets, you sent John into the world to proclaim the
coming of your son. Give us ears to hear the proclamations of your promises and
eyes to see your presence in this world. Amen.
Our lesson for tonight is the story of the birth of John the
Baptist and the song of Zechariah, his father.
Today is the feast day of John the Baptist, the day we celebrate his
birth.
And yes, the day celebrates (?) honors (?) helps us remember the
birth of John. But there is more said by
Zechariah following the birth that is a message that speaks to us this
day.
We have to go back about 9 months when an angel of the Lord
appeared to Zechariah telling him that he and Elizabeth would conceive a child
and they would name him John…not a name from either Zechariah’s or Elizabeth’s
families. Zechariah didn’t believe
it…and he was rendered speechless for 9 months.
Silent for 9 months…
Now proclaiming the good news of the God of Israel.
What would it be like to be silent or silenced for that amount of
time?
Because of the situation Zechariah had ample time to reflect on
God’s call in his life the life of his family.
As personal as his message was, coming straight from the heart…he
proclaimed a message about God for the people of God.
Almost as if he was preparing the way for his son John who would
prepare the way for Jesus…hmmm…I think that’s worth pondering.
The proclamation and preparation that these voices (Zechariah’s
and John’s) are doing for the presence of Jesus that will be coming into the
world.
They will be echoed as we sing the Canticle of Mary just following
this homily. Both Zachariah and Mary as
parents called by God proclaim a message of hope, of redemption, of freedom and
of a world that will be turned upside down….all because of a God who loves this
world so much!
Right?!?!
God loves each and everyone of us and this whole world so much…God
brings Godself into the world through the gift of Jesus God’s only son.
And that world…the world that God created for us…is the one that
Zechariah is singing about in tonight’s reading.
That God has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
That we might serve God without fear, in holiness and
righteousness.
With the presence of a pandemic, different areas of our lives have
been silenced…concerts, sporting events, large group gatherings…has this
offered us all a time of reflection?
To ponder God’s call in our lives?
To ponder how God calls us to follow Jesus and Jesus message of
love and justice and healing in a broken world?
Maybe.
Has this situation given you time to ponder who God is calling you
to be…today? Tomorrow?
Has this situation given you time to ponder how and when to use
your voice?
Has this situation given you time to ponder God’s call in your
life to love and serve your neighbor?
I’m not asking these questions in a judgy way…please know that.
I have struggled with these questions, too.
How is the current climate…impacted by politics, racism and a
pandemic…giving me time to pause and ponder?
How is the current situation opening my eyes and ears to God’s
call in my life?
How is God calling me to follow Jesus and Jesus’ message of love
and justice and healing in our broken world?
These are questions I ask myself, think about and pray about every
day.
And everyday…I listen and look for a response…
In my community
both in person and on social media.
In home, because
that’s where I spend lots of time 😊
In my faith life
& journey…because who God calls me to be is a huge part of that journey.
Every day as I ask those questions… I look and listen for a
response to how and where God is calling me to serve that day.
Sometimes I take it…day by day…because that’s all I can do.
Thanks be to God who continues to break into our hearts and our
lives.
Thanks be to God who continues to calls us to be part of this
inbreaking of love and justice.
Thanks be to God who walks with us every step of the way…
And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and let all God’s people say, amen.
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