The pastor started out by telling us how she was looking for a particular book and couldn't find it. Should have been an easy task, it had a green cover. Her secretary finally offered to look and found it right away - the cover was not green. I could relate, over the past few years I have gotten rid of any plastic containers used to store leftovers that are not clear. It seems that no one in my house is capable of looking inside to find the goodies awaiting them. However, if things are stored in containers transparent enough to give you a hint of what is inside the likelihood that other family members will actually look inside skyrockets. Conversely, I am very regimented about where things go - a place for everything and everything in its place - and if the jelly doesn't go back in its proper place on the door I am probably not going to find it anywhere in the refrigerator.
The scripture this week was Luke3:1-6 with the subtitle "John the Baptist Prepares the Way." For me that begs the question - why did the way need to be prepared? Part of it, I'm sure, was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. But really, why did the way need paving? Maybe another part of the answer is in the beginning of the passage. Look at all the rulers who are listed there. Seven of them! Who would you be expecting to deliver you from that hierarchy? What would the Lord need to be in order to overcome all of them? Powerful, mighty, militaristic, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Above all, big and strong. And who is his herald? A guy in the wilderness who wears a loincloth, eats locusts and honey, and who yells at everyone. Talk about a paradigm shift!
Sometimes I can't find things because they aren't where I expect them to be. Sometimes I can't find things because they aren't what I expect them to be. Many times I can't find things because I have closed my eyes, my mind or my heart. I don't know about you, but in this season of busy-ness I needed this reminder to be alert, be awake to expect the unexpected. But most of all to open myself up to the presence of God.
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