Praise
be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant, (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, has raised up a horn - to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy
covenant, the oath he swore to our father
Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all of our days. (Luke 1:68-75)
Today, we look at a song sung by a priest named Zachariah and return
to the theme of redemption. Concepts he links with that idea include salvation,
showing mercy, and remembrance of a covenant or promise. The result of these
things would be both rescues from enemies, and enablement to serve without fear.
Rescue from our enemies can take at least a couple forms. Our enemies can
be removed (sent somewhere else or destroyed.) They can also, as Abraham
Lincoln pointed out, changed into friends. Or, we can be made strong enough
that they no longer concern us. I tend to think in terms of the first, like
most people. But it’s not the only option, and I suspect the best option is to
convert them to friends. Sigh, if only they were dogs instead of people! Part
of the process in all three, however, is for us to forgive them.
Being able to serve without fear is another challenge – more difficult
than we want it to be. We tend to want to serve ourselves, but let me tell you,
I’m not even very good at that. I mean, if I were going to serve myself, then I
would do things that are good for me faithfully instead of going off on a whim
and a tear. I wouldn’t shoot myself in the foot repeatedly with different “guns.”
Some people object to the idea of serving, but research has shown that
serving one another is good for us.[1]
Assuming that the volunteer is actually doing something they believe helps
someone else, serving someone else reduces stress and improves mood. Instead of
being reluctant, we should crave opportunities to serve in a way that allows us
to give of our best, not just to shuffle along.
But the issue isn't really serving, it's serving without fear, in holiness and righteousness. In the writing world, there are people who offer services as "sensitivity readers." They examine a person's writing to make sure that the author's treatment of one or more groups or subjects is handled in a way that is both (from their perspective) accurately and inoffensively. In other words, sensitively. And, of course, pleasing one doesn't mean one has pleased them all. You can even offend a sensitivity reader by not including their preferred sort of characters. There are writers who seem to have a checklist of all the sorts of characters and situations they are required to include in order to be "sensitive." The story doesn't matter in the slightest as long as the checklist is complete.
This is the dilemma we all face. In the ancient world, some groups believed in pantheons of gods, who were something like sensitivity readers. If you did something to win the approval of one, you might earn the enmity of another. Even with some monotheistic faiths, the average worshipper doesn't know whether he/she has done enough to earn his/her deity's approval. Service must be with fear - not the reverential fear of God, but with the fear of that god's ultimate disapproval when you thought you'd done as well as you could. God had removed the need for that fear. We can serve, knowing that even though our service isn't perfect, Jesus has done what was necessary so that we are accepted. When we remember this, it is freeing.
But the issue isn't really serving, it's serving without fear, in holiness and righteousness. In the writing world, there are people who offer services as "sensitivity readers." They examine a person's writing to make sure that the author's treatment of one or more groups or subjects is handled in a way that is both (from their perspective) accurately and inoffensively. In other words, sensitively. And, of course, pleasing one doesn't mean one has pleased them all. You can even offend a sensitivity reader by not including their preferred sort of characters. There are writers who seem to have a checklist of all the sorts of characters and situations they are required to include in order to be "sensitive." The story doesn't matter in the slightest as long as the checklist is complete.
This is the dilemma we all face. In the ancient world, some groups believed in pantheons of gods, who were something like sensitivity readers. If you did something to win the approval of one, you might earn the enmity of another. Even with some monotheistic faiths, the average worshipper doesn't know whether he/she has done enough to earn his/her deity's approval. Service must be with fear - not the reverential fear of God, but with the fear of that god's ultimate disapproval when you thought you'd done as well as you could. God had removed the need for that fear. We can serve, knowing that even though our service isn't perfect, Jesus has done what was necessary so that we are accepted. When we remember this, it is freeing.
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