In the season of Advent we are given a fresh start, a new year, an opportunity to elevate our minds and our imaginations – to take a God’s-Eye View of the world – as we dare to hope, like Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary – dare to hope, that the seemingly impossible is possible. That God is preparing the fields – that God is preparing us for all that lies ahead.
We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Northeast Iowa, the town of Postville to be exact, with Sarah’s side of the family. I always enjoy going there. It is quiet. It is a small town. And it is interesting.
Interesting to take a walk through town as we did with our dog, several times a day— and to see the Hasidic Jewish men on their way to temple. To see the Somali women covered head to toe in their hijabs as they go about their way along the sidewalks. To walk by the storefront churches humming with the music of the Latino immigrant community that is so well established there now.
A small town – so many cultures and people. An interesting place. And even with all of the struggles and challenges that have occurred in Postville over the years – the fits and starts of cultures colliding at times – even with all of that, perhaps it is a bit of the foretaste of God’s kingdom – in that small town with one four-way stop along Highway 18.
A God’s-Eye View. I wonder if that was what we were getting a glimpse of. A God’s-Eye View – one that doesn’t get bogged down in differences, but celebrates diversity – diversity of people and ideas and perspectives. A view of the big picture on a God-Sized scale.
This is what we find in the big picture thinking of Advent. We find it in these iconic verses of scripture that remind us of the enormity of God’s plan – of the vast nature of creation, of which we only grasp a fraction. In these weeks we are given a glimpse – a big picture, God’s-Eye View of God’s plan to redeem and liberate the world.
The other thing that we noticed as we walked and drove around Northeast Iowa was the smell. The farmers in the area were taking advantage of the seasonally mild days that week and the fact that the ground was not yet frozen, to spread manure in their fields. And if you caught the wind just right off of those fields, it was hard to escape that distinctive odor.
As I reflect on the start of this Advent season, and you’ll have to bear with me on this one, but I wonder if that distinctive odor, wasn’t the smell of hope, and if it wasn’t the smell of patience. Let me explain – those fields will not be planted for many months and yet they are being prepared for that future time when they will be plowed and planted and harvested – when that hope and patience and preparation will show its worth and come to fruition.
I will confess that I’m not entirely comfortable with using images of planting and growing – today with the theme: “We Plow the Fields”. Full disclosure, I have never farmed. I can’t say that I’ve grown much in the garden, and there is a reason why I am not responsible for caring for our house plants. But I do appreciate those that have those gifts. And I have appreciated the wisdom of the farmers and gardeners I have known in my life – women and men with tremendous patience and hope from season to season.
However, as I think about this metaphor, I wonder if we actually are not the farmers or gardeners. I wonder more if we, in fact, are the fields. That in the Big-Picture, God’s-Eye View of creation, that we are the ones that are being prepared. We are the ones that God wants to see grow and yield a harvest. That is a little different take isn’t it? It puts us in the position of receiving, of being the object of God’s attention, of being actively drawn into God’s purpose and plan for the world.
And that is where we find Zechariah today – on the receiving end. In this story we know that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth have been hopeful for a child for all of their lives together – a story that also echoes from the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah too.
In today’s reading we hear the angel preparing the ground for something miraculous – preparing Zechariah for this unexpected child, but also for the importance of this one who will be called John. What we don’t hear is Zechariah’s resistance and disbelief which comes in the verses immediately following:
Zacharias said to the angel, “But this is impossible! I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.” (Luke 1:18-20 TLB)
I love it. Gabriel wasn’t playing around. Zechariah was the field being prepared for what was to come. And he would soon know the joy of their child as well as receive his ability to speak again.
It may have been that Gabriel was a little cranky because he was on a tight schedule. Later on in that same chapter, the angel pays a visit to Mary – although it is interesting to note that the angel takes it a little easier on Mary when she questions the news.
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. You will conceive and bear a son…” Mary asked, “How can it be, since I am a virgin?” The angel replied that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, so the child would be conceived by the power of God. And he added that Elizabeth, her relative, was also pregnant, for “Nothing will be impossible with God”.
The skeptical among us might hear these stories and chalk them up to good “story-telling” but not much more than that – for to scientific minds, they truly sound impossible.
But what if that’s the point? What if their purpose is to challenge us to blur the line between what we think is possible and what we think is impossible?
What if this is God preparing us for what is possible?
Could we ever come to a time when swords would be beaten into plowshares? When the predatory people in power—the lions—would lie down in peace with the vulnerable and the poor—the lambs? When God’s justice would flow like a river—to the lowest and most “god-forsaken” places on Earth?
When the brokenhearted would be comforted and the poor would receive good news? If you think, never—it’s impossible, then maybe you need to think again. Maybe it’s not too late for something beautiful to be born. Maybe it’s not too soon, either. Maybe the present moment is pregnant with possibilities we can’t see or even imagine. [We Make the Road by Walking, Brian McLaren, p. 68-69]
In the season of Advent we are given a fresh start, a new year, an opportunity to elevate our minds and our imaginations – to take a God’s-Eye View of the world – as we dare to hope, like Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary – dare to hope, that the seemingly impossible is possible. That God is preparing the fields – that God is preparing us for all that lies ahead.
Let us pray: Gracious God, we thank you for this day and for this season. Help us to recognize your work in us and in the world. May we, more and more, orient our lives in the direction of hope, that we too might be sharers and reflectors of your grace and mercy and compassion. Grant us strength for this day and hope for tomorrow, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Rev. John Berg
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Northbrook, IL