Preparing the Way of the Lord
Read Luke 1:67-80
Zechariah’s Song
Zechariah’s words would have engendered either skepticism or hope. The Jewish people suffer under oppressive Roman domination of their promised land. They yearn for God’s intervention in the form of a “mighty savior” who will deliver them from Roman enemies, liberate the Promised Land, and restore them as a kingdom under a descendant of David. This hope however, was repeatedly dashed as the Romans brutally squelched numerous attempts at liberation led by self-proclaimed “messiahs.” Is Zechariah the real thing?
Many people today suffer from various forms of oppression that deny the wholeness of life for which God created them. For some the oppression results from an economy fueled by greed. For others oppression takes root in societal and systemic structures of self-interest in injustice and discrimination are inherent. Yet others find themselves imprisoned by attitudes and behaviors that hold them in bondage. The world offers a multitude of purveyors of hope for deliverance from such oppressions.
These “messiahs” play upon the deep hunger of the heart for wholeness of life, but they consistently fail to deliver.
Why, then, should we heed the promise of deliverance and of hope for a transformed life? We shouldn’t if by “deliverance” we merely seek a self-referenced escape from the circumstances of our life or if by “transformed” we desire God to allow us to be and do what we want to be and do. However, if we are willing to consider a radical way of being in the world and dealing with the circumstances and relationships, then the promise is for us.
My Prayer
Lord, help me be your person in the world. Amen.
Peace, Love and Grace be with you during this Advent Season.
Jim Perry
Zechariah’s Song
Zechariah’s words would have engendered either skepticism or hope. The Jewish people suffer under oppressive Roman domination of their promised land. They yearn for God’s intervention in the form of a “mighty savior” who will deliver them from Roman enemies, liberate the Promised Land, and restore them as a kingdom under a descendant of David. This hope however, was repeatedly dashed as the Romans brutally squelched numerous attempts at liberation led by self-proclaimed “messiahs.” Is Zechariah the real thing?
Many people today suffer from various forms of oppression that deny the wholeness of life for which God created them. For some the oppression results from an economy fueled by greed. For others oppression takes root in societal and systemic structures of self-interest in injustice and discrimination are inherent. Yet others find themselves imprisoned by attitudes and behaviors that hold them in bondage. The world offers a multitude of purveyors of hope for deliverance from such oppressions.
These “messiahs” play upon the deep hunger of the heart for wholeness of life, but they consistently fail to deliver.
Why, then, should we heed the promise of deliverance and of hope for a transformed life? We shouldn’t if by “deliverance” we merely seek a self-referenced escape from the circumstances of our life or if by “transformed” we desire God to allow us to be and do what we want to be and do. However, if we are willing to consider a radical way of being in the world and dealing with the circumstances and relationships, then the promise is for us.
My Prayer
Lord, help me be your person in the world. Amen.
Peace, Love and Grace be with you during this Advent Season.
Jim Perry
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