Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Jan 3 2020 - Luke 1:57-80 – The birth of John the Baptiser

The child born to Zechariah and Elizabeth was an answer to prayer. No doubt they had long asked for a child, though Zechariah’s disbelief seems to suggest he may have given up all hope. But he was offering incense in the temple when the angel told him that his wife was to have a child. The incense was a picture of the sweet prayers of God’s people ascending to him. And the offering of incense was accompanied by a praying crowd in the outer part of the temple. Many, no doubt, were praying that God would come again to redeem his people. God had heard the prayers of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and the prayers of his people Israel.

When at last her child is born, Elizabeth’s relatives want him named after his father, but she wants him to be called John, which means, ‘The Lord is gracious’. Zechariah still cannot speak, but he takes up a writing tablet and writes on it, "His name is John." At this Zechariah can speak once more and his first words expressed blessing to God.

What God had done for Elizabeth and Zechariah became the talk of their whole region as people asked one another “What then will this child be?” (Luke 1:66). But Zechariah has no doubts concerning this child’s future. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he pours out his praise to God in the form of a prophecy concerning this new-born baby. His song is full of the most wonderful imagery as it prophesies concerning John's ministry and of what God will do through the one for whom John is just the warm-up act. This is not only God's answer to the prayers of Zechariah and Elizabeth and of those who had been praying at the temple when the angel appeared to Zechariah, it is his answer to the cries of his people down the centuries, and his answer to the cries of a desperate world.

Zechariah recognises that the birth of this child marks the beginning of a new work of God. God is now remembering his covenant with Abraham (1:72-73). Promises which had seemed long forgotten will now be fulfilled. This child will prepare the way for the Lord to come to the rescue of his people (1:76). God is about to restore the kingdom to his people; John will herald a new king like David who will deliver God's people from their enemies (1:69-71). As in the days of the Exodus of old, God has come to rescue his people from slavery so that they might serve him in holiness and without fear (1:74-75). Yes, God is about to do a new thing through this child – and through the child whom Mary is carrying. It will be a new dawn as the mercy and grace of God flood a dark world with the light of his presence (1:78-79). Those upon whom this light dawns will know the salvation of the Lord through the forgiveness of their sins (1:77).

I used to drive eastwards in the morning on my way to work. A few miles from my home, the road took me up a steep hill overhung by trees and often gloomy and dark. As I came to the top of the hill, the rising sun hit me in the eyes and, as the road levelled out, the world before me was bathed in light. It was a dramatic experience, bringing home these images from Scripture.

God acts for the salvation of the world in response to the heartfelt prayers of his people. Today, as the sun rises around our suffering world, let us pray that many may know the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them and that they may know his healing power. A new day has dawned. We continue to live in the dawn of that new day. We long for the time when the Day shall shine in all its brightness and fullness.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Jan 3 2019 - Genesis 2:1-3 – Entering God's rest

Nowadays it does not take much to get me exhausted. After a long walk or a few hours of gardening I have to sit down and take a good rest. If I've had a particularly busy day I long for my bed and for the refreshment that is gained through the unconscious hours of sleep.

After six days of creating the heavens and earth and all that is in them, God also took a rest. But his rest was quite different from ours. God did not rest because he was exhausted. His powers were undiminished after his great work of creation. God's rest was not to recover from back-breaking work. His was a rest of contemplative enjoyment of all that he had made – like a great artist who stands back from his finished masterpiece to admire and marvel at his own work.

"God", we read, "blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work he had done in creation." God declares the seventh day holy, special, not for his own sake but for ours. God sets this day apart that we might rest with him and in him. God invites us to enter into his rest – to take a break from our own busy labour and to join him in contemplative enjoyment of all that he has made. He calls us to pause and to take delight in the work of the greatest of all artists.

"What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare" wrote W H Davies. How often do you just stop and stare at the beauty of the world around you. How often do you stop to gaze at the beauty of a sunset or of a sunrise that sets the horizon ablaze? How often do you gaze at the stars in a night sky, amazed at the vastness and grandeur of our universe? How often do you stop in wonder at the perfection and delicate beauty of a flower or the intricacy of an insect? How often do you look beyond the creation to see the power and majesty of its Creator?

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!

God's gracious invitation to enter into his rest is not to be turned into the litany of legalistic prohibitions that has sometimes marked his people's keeping of the Sabbath. Such Sabbaths have been anything but restful. God's call is a gracious invitation to enjoy fellowship with him and to rest in his ability to do all things well. It is to be delightful, refreshing and, in the truest possible sense, recreational.

Take time to enjoy the world God has created. He has given it all to us for our enjoyment as well as for our care.

Forgive us Lord that we are often so busy with our own work and preoccupations that we do not stop and stare. We fail to marvel at the wonders of the world that you have made and to respond to you gladly with thanksgiving and praise. Slow us down Lord. Open our eyes to see your glory and goodness displayed in creation. Enable us to rest content in you.

Peter Misselbrook