“SOMETIMES GOD THROWS A REALLY GOOD CURVE BALL”
LUKE 1:57-79
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to
circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.
60 But his mother said, "No; he is
to be called John."
61 They said to her, "None of your
relatives has this name."
62 Then they began motioning to his
father to find out what name he wanted to give him.
63 He asked for a writing tablet and
wrote, "His name is John." And all of them were amazed.
64 Immediately his mouth was opened
and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 Fear came over all their neighbors,
and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea.
66 All who heard them pondered them
and said, "What then will this child become?" For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled
with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior
for us in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of
his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we would be saved from our
enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised
to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor
Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being rescued from the
hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before
him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation
to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
How are you when it comes
to hitting a curve ball? Now I’m not talking about the curve balls that
a pitcher throws from time to time during a baseball game. I’m talking
about the curve balls that you see from time to time in your day to day life. Sometimes those curve balls leave you feeling
a little grouchy and grumpy.
It happens when you work
overtime at the office to finish a project. Then at the last minute the boss
kills the project and announces that he’s decided to go in a different direction.
It happens when you spend weeks getting ready to go on a really great vacation.
Then at the last minute someone in the family gets sick and you can’t go.
It happens when you look forward to welcoming a new child into the family. Then when the big day finally arrives the
doctor announces that the child has Down’s Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy or Cystic Fibrosis. My father got hit with one
of those unexpected curve balls shortly after he retired. He had it all figured
out. His retirement toy was a shiny new RV. The plan was to drive the RV to Florida
every year and spend the winter there. Those plans got put on hold though when
my grandmother developed Parkinson’s and came to live with them.
Things like that happen all
the time. You know what that’s like right? You have it all figured out.
You have everything under control and then you suddenly get hit with one of those unexpected curve balls.
Take the Christmas card I
received a few days ago. Inside the card were some alternative lyrics to one
of the songs from the “Sound of Music.” The lyrics suggested that
the Golden Years aren’t always so golden. The lyrics went like this:
Maalox and nose drops and
needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and
new dental fittings.
Bundles of magazines tied
up with string.
These are a few of my favorite
things.
When the pipes break…when
the bones creak…when the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite
things and then I don’t feel so bad.
Back pain, confused brains
and no fear of sin-in’
Thin bones and fractures
and hair that is thin-in’
And we won’t mention
our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite
things.
When the joints ache…when
the hips break…when the eyes grow dim…
Then I remember the GREAT
life I’ve had…and then I don’t feel…so bad
It doesn’t matter who
you are. Sooner or later you’re going to get hit with one of those curve
balls. That’s what happened to Zechariah and Elizabeth. You see, if it had been up to them they would have named the baby after someone in the family and then
gone home to live happily ever after. That’s not what happened though. That’s because God had other plans for that baby. Long before the big day arrived, the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that the baby wasn’t going to grow
up and become a priest like his father. The baby wasn’t going to grow up
and make sure they were taken care of in their old age either. No. God’s
plan was for that baby to grow up and prepare the way for the coming of the messiah.
So, instead of naming the baby after someone in the family, Gabriel told Zechariah that the baby’s name was to
be John.
Like it or not, Zechariah
and Elizabeth got hit with one of those curve balls. Take another look at the nativity story and you’ll see that somehow,
someway everyone got hit with one of those curve balls. Let’s start with Mary.
The plan was to marry Joseph; then settle down and raise a family. Before
that could happen though Gabriel showed up and told her that there had been a change of plans.
Mary was going to be the mother of the messiah. Not only that, but the
child was going to be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Poor Mary! That news didn’t sit very well with her. Why? It didn’t sit very well with her because she knew that her reputation was at stake. Mary knew that when people found out that she was great with child they’d accuse her of being a trampy
and trashy young girl.
Joseph also got
hit with one of those curve balls. When he heard that Mary was great with child
he decided to divorce her quietly so he could go on with his life. Before he
could do that though the angel Gabriel showed up and told him that they’re been a change of plans. Instead of getting rid of Mary God wanted Joseph to forgive her and to stay with her.
The curve balls didn’t
end there either. After Jesus was born Mary and Joseph were going to go back to Nazareth
and settle down there. Before they could get the donkey out of the stable though, God warned Joseph in a dream that Herod
wanted to kill the child. So, instead of going back to Nazareth God told Joseph
to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt.
Because of Herod’s
desire to kill the child, the Wise Men also got hit with one of those curve balls. After they gave the Christ child their
gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh the plan was to go back to their own country. Before they could leave though God
warned them about Herod and told them to return to their own country by
another way. Unfortunately, that other way was undoubtedly a much longer and
more difficult route.
So, the nativity story is
full of people getting hit with one curve ball after another. It happens to everyone.
So what do you do when you get hit with one of those curve balls? You could get
frustrated and stamp your feet a little. You could let fear get the best of you and just give up on life. Or you could escape into your own little fantasy world and refuse to face the reality of the situation.
The best thing to do of course
is exactly what Zechariah and Elizabeth did that day in the Temple. They put their faith in God. Zechariah and Elizabeth showed
their faith that day when the time came to name their baby. Zechariah wrote on
a tablet that the baby’s name was going to be John. As soon as he did that his mouth was opened. He began to praise
God and to proclaim that this baby was going to be a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the messiah!
Now we need to be clear here. Not every curve ball in life comes from God. A little girl learned that lesson one
day while she was riding her bike. Unfortunately the little girl wasn’t
watching where she was going and ran into a branch that knocked her off the bike. The little girl immediately began to cry
and ran to tell her mother. “Mommy, mommy,” the little girl sobbed,
“Billy pushed me off my bike.” Now the mother knew that wasn’t
true because she saw what really happened while standing at the kitchen window. “Now,
now,” she said. “Billy didn’t push you off your bike. You weren’t
paying attention and ran into a branch.” The little girl stopped crying. “You mean sometimes stuff like this just happens and it’s nobody’s
fault?” she asked. “That’s right,” the mother said sympathetically. The little girl looked at her mother with a puzzled look on her face. Then she shook her head in disbelief and exclaimed, “Wow! What a bummer!”
Not every curve ball comes
from God. Some of them do though. So, when you find yourself faced with an unexpected
change of plans it’s okay to do all the things that I’ve mentioned. It’s
okay to stamp your feet a little. It’s okay to pull the covers up you’re your head and feel a little sorry for
yourself. It’s okay to retreat into your own little fantasy world for a while.
After you do all that though, stop and ask yourself this question. “LORD,
what are you trying to tell me something here?”
The best thing you can do
is be still and look for the God who may be trying to tell you something. Look for the God who may be telling you that you
need to live your life a little differently. Look for the God who might be telling you that you need to forgive someone; the
God who might be telling you that you need to be a little more patient with yourself and others; the God who might be telling
you that you need to spend less time at work and more time with your family; the God who might be telling you not to waste
a talent that you’ve been given.
The best thing you can do
is look for God when you’re get hit with one of those curve balls. In the
book Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul author Joan Wester Anderson tells
a story about traveling minister by the name of Ken Gaub. One day Pastor Gaub
was driving down a highway near Dayton, Ohio when his caravan
of family and workers decided to stop and get something to eat. Pastor Gaub wasn’t very hungry though. So, he stayed outside while everyone else went it to eat. It was a difficult time for him. Despite the fact that he had established a Christian magazine as well as a successful radio and television
ministry he wasn’t sure if he was really accomplishing anything worthwhile. As he stood there pondering that question,
a telephone in a nearby phone booth began to ring. No one was around so he went over and answered it. Much to his surprise he then heard an operator announce that she had a long distance call for Ken Gaub. He couldn’t believe it. How could anyone he was going to be at that rest stop
at that particular moment. He didn’t even know he was going to be at that
rest stop at that particular moment. He thought it was a joke. As soon as he said his name though a woman on the other end of the line shouted, “That’s him
operator.” The woman then introduced herself to Pastor Gaub. “I’m
Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,” she said. You don’t know me, but I’m desperate.
Please help me.” Well, to make a long story short Millie from Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania had decided to end her life and was writing a note when she began to pray. That’s when she remembered seeing Pastor Gaub on television and thought that
if she could only talk to him things would get better. She didn’t know
how to get in touch with him though and so she continued to write her note. That’s
when a series of numbers came into her head. She wrote them down. Then she picked the phone up and asked the operator to make the person to person call. So, the two of them talked and both of them got hit with one of those curve balls. The woman didn’t
end her life and Pastor Gaub didn’t give up on his ministry. When his wife came back to their van Pastor Gaub looked
at her and joyfully said, “Barb, you won’t believe this! God knows where I am!” (Chicken Soup For The Christian Soul pps. 163-166)
Sometimes a sudden change
of plans is good for the soul. Sometimes it’s God’s way of trying to get your attention. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
December 10, 2006
