A Case of the Blahs...and Joy

I wasn’t sure how I was going to approach the blog in 2015. It’s not that I had run out of topics, it’s just that nothing felt exciting at January 1. After I proclaimed that timing was everything…I went through a time of what is scientifically referred to as “the blahs.” I’ve decided there is a time for the blahs. 

But I think it’s over! So, it’s time to come back to the blog. Currently, my church (NCC) is doing a study called “Elements” on the Fruit of the Spirit. I lightly touched on each fruit of the spirit last year while I was going through the Beatitudes. However, at that time, the Beatitude was front and center and the fruit was a backup singer. Now the fruit have gone solo! 

Last week the sermon was on LOVE. And it was great. But that was while I was in the blahs. So…can’t start there. Maybe I’ll circle back to it…but it’s not like I haven’t talked about love before (see Prelude to a Diss). So I’m going to start with JOY.

In my Elements book it told me to read Luke 1:26 – 55. So, I did! Obedience.  It’s a great passage, and it made me think a lot of thoughts. Some rather pointless ones and some that may/may not be profound:

POINTLESS THOUGHTS

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  – Luke 1:28-29

This is troubling indeed...

I had to wonder: why is Mary greatly troubled at hearing that she is highly favored and that the Lord is with her? When I first read verse 28, I thought: “… I wish that would happen to me!”  I wish I could get that sort of validation. I always feel like I’m one sinful thought away from a lightning bolt! But for some reason, this greeting troubles Mary. Why? I of course have no idea; I’m trying to put myself in her shoes.

Does he come to her front door? Is he already lurking inside her house when she returns from the well? How did this go down? Let’s just agree that the automatic reaction to a strange man is fear.

LESS POINTLESS THOUGHTS

So Gabriel tells Mary what to expect: give birth to the son of the Most High, name him Jesus, peace out. But Mary has one critical question:

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” – Luke 1:34

Great question! But the answer included some possibly irrelevant (but yet crucial information): 

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” – Luke 1:35-37

The Holy Spirit overshadowing bit? Relevant. The “even Elizabeth your relative…” bit? What was that about? But here’s the thing…it was meaningful, because after Gabriel left, Mary high-tailed it to Elizabeth’s house.

John the Baptist (or JtB as I call him) was a forerunner for Christ. But Elizabeth was also a kind of forerunner to Mary. Something impossible was about to happen to Mary. Something divine. The angel could have just told her about Jesus and rolled. But he dropped a nugget of “Even Elizabeth…” because it was known that 1) Elizabeth couldn’t conceive, and 2) she was very old. (Luke 1:7). And everyone knew it (Luke 1:25). So Gabriel informed her ,as proof that this impossible thing he’d told her couldn’t take place, that something impossible had already happened to her cousin Elizabeth. It was a sign.

Elizabeth’s testimony was a sign.

I rarely look at testimonies that way. They’re just something good that happened to that person. But no, they are a sign of what God does! Of how God works! And that you can believe in the things He’s told you. Why? Because no word from God will ever fail.

That’s enough to create joy right? Well…only if you believe it.

Mary goes to see Elizabeth and a “praise party” breaks out (see Luke 1:39-55), but my favorite part is in verses 43 – 45:

But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

This is quite deep. Why am I so favored that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me? That God, by His Holy Spirit, has drawn me to His truth. That He has allowed my understanding to be opened? Verse 45 is hard. Promises alone might not be enough to receive the blessing. The blessing comes to the one who has believed the Lord will do as He says. Elizabeth believes. Mary believes. And it is their joy. Belief leads to joy. Faith leads to joy. I take the “she” and the “her” very generally, even though it seemingly speaks specifically to Mary. Why? Because Elizabeth is speaking by the Holy Spirit, and as a result she’s speaking very prophetically. That word, I believe, stretches across the millennia and has met me in my living room. And it speaks to me, as a woman. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” What promises? There are many things that have been spoken to me by the Holy Spirit. And they seemed too high for me. There are many things that have happened to me, by the Holy Spirit, but they were moment that floated away on the winds of days gone by. But if God has made a turn a high thing into low-hanging fruit…I should pick it. And if what God said in the past has still not come to pass, I have to believe that it’s slated for either right now or the future. If I think in this way…won’t I have joy?