Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Judges: 13: 2-7, 24-25a; Luke 1: 5-25
Dc. Larry Brockman
Two women- that’s what we hear about this morning. They had prayed all their life long, and hope was fading. They were childless, and in the ancient Jewish society, that was considered a disgrace as Elizabeth mentioned candidly in the Gospel. But their Faith was strong, so they still prayed, and both of them were rewarded for their Faith with a son. Both of these sons, Samson and John the Baptist became great in the eyes of God and gave honor to their mothers and glory to God. Samson saved Israel from the Philistines; and John the Baptist heralded the way for Jesus. These two testaments to Faith are a great example for us all. We, too, need to keep Faith and never give up on prayer.
I am pretty sure there is something in your life that you have been praying for and it just seems as if your prayers are not answered- a child, like the women in today’s readings; a healing for an illness; the repair of a relationship; for someone to get out from under an addiction; some relief to a hardship- a new job, a little financial breathing room; the fulfillment of some dream- an accomplishment like a degree or a talent that you want to bear fruit. And yet, whatever it is, it just doesn’t seem to happen despite your prayers. But know that God always answers your prayers in your best interests. The answers are yes, no, and not right now.
Yes is something we all like to hear- but again, God knows best when “yes right now” is really the best for us. “No” is a really difficult answer, isn’t it. But there are reasons for “no”; just like there are reasons we say “no” to our Children. God has plans for us that we cannot foresee. Sometimes we only understand as time goes by that our prayers really were answered, but in a different way, and that things turned out better God’s way.
Then there is “Not right now”, but in God’s time. That’s a tough answer, too. And it is the one God gave these two women for most of their lives. But then, all of a sudden, their prayers were answered and their dreams came true.
This, after all, is the message of the Advent season. After waiting through the “not right now” period for so long, Israel’s prayer was answered. The Jewish people longed and prayed for the coming of the promised Messiah. They prayed for it for thousands of years- thousands of years! God answered their prayer as “not right now” for those thousands of years. But then, all of a sudden, He sent his Son, the Messiah. It was an answer they didn’t expect, because they were looking for a King, not a helpless baby and so, it wasn’t foreseen as the most wonderful answer to their prayers. But God answered their prayer by sending His only Son into the world as one of us to show us the way and to give us everlasting life. We can see now how marvelous that answer to their prayers was. That’s why we celebrate Christmas each year.
In less than a week, God comes again in that unexpected way as a helpless child. But if we take him inside, and listen to him, doing the will God has for us, our prayers will be answered, and just like John the Baptist and Samson great things will happen for us.
