Pulling Over

Pulling Over

• Gospel LK 1:5-25
• In the days of Herod, King of Judea,there was a priest named Zechariahof the priestly division of Abijah;his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God,observing all the commandmentsand ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barrenand both were advanced in years.
  
  Once when he was serving as priestin his division’s turn before God,according to the practice of the priestly service,he was chosen by lotto enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outsideat the hour of the incense offering,the angel of the Lord appeared to him,standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness,and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,and he will turn many of the children of Israelto the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijahto turn the hearts of fathers toward childrenand the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
  Then Zechariah said to the angel,“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply,“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talkuntil the day these things take place,because you did not believe my words,which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariahand were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
  Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
  After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fitto take away my disgrace before others.”

In a results driven society, how much do we value the process? It took me five hours to get home from physical therapy the other night. I was in enough pain to be worried about passing out that I had to pull over a few times. She was twenty years older than me and yet she called me Mam. I met her at the last service stop on the way home. The same one I’ve been passing once a week for the past three months. I recognized her as I got out of the car and started a conversation. To say she’s in a tough spot would be an understatement. To say we were both looking for Christmas miracles is true. I don’t know if her prayers were answered but I know that us meeting was the reminder I needed about God’s timing.

Last week I was going to write a reflection on this Gospel. Though the truth is as much as I was going to write it, I barely even read it never mind meditated on it.  A friend mentioned that there might be more than a few things God would show me through Zechariah’s situation. At quick glance, I garnered there was some part about Zechariah getting good news and then having to wait to talk never mind  see the fulfillment of said good news that struck me as a “I’m sure there is a wonderful lesson in here that I don’t want to be asked to live right now” kind of way. Thus, I avoided it. The thing though is that in my attempt at avoidance, it’s all I kept thinking about.

The first thing that came to mind was a New Years Resolution I was offered in confession over three years ago. Fr. Dom, a soft spoken, gentle, Dominican priest from Australia who I met in New Zealand, encouraged me to “love your mess and rip up your time table.”

As we celebrate Christmas, can you recognize Jesus’ presence in our mess -the unresolved questions, the answered prayers, our own weakness? As we contemplate love incarnate laying in the stable, can you place your own heart in the manger and love all that is unsettling for you?

Even more so, can you rip up your time table and surrender to God’s good timing? Now I don’t know why God made Zechariah mute (sorry to disappoint), but as I think about that time for him and Elizabeth I can’t help but wonder the ways they grew in communication and love like they never knew before.

We don’t plan the road blocks, detours, or the times we have to pull over. Yet, if we let them, God’s presence, lessons, life and love, can be found in these presents. In fact one of the lines that jumped out to me was “people were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.” Zechariah had an encounter with the angel and he remained in the sanctuary. Do we create the space and take the time to reverence the moments  God speaks to   us?

Do you love your mess and have you ripped up your time t able?
I dare you to allow 2014 to be the year you do both for you will have joy and gladness. "In God's marvelous plan, Divine Providence often uses the tiniest twigs to do good works... What would life be without acts of charity?" St. John pray that like Pier Giorgio we may soar verso l’alto,

Merry Christmas,
Coop

Love is too much to give us lesser Things
http://veopod.com/video/1CSVqHcdhXQ

• God bless the broken road
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYodFrBf0BE
• Giver of Immortal Gladness, Fill us with the  Light of Day

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=09BBC1NU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc