"Seek A Fresh Touch From God"
Sermon Transcript for December 23, 2001 By Rev. Dan SinkhornScripture Reading: Luke 1:5-25
So far our Advent series has majored on making Christ-like connections with others during the holidays. Today, I want to concentrate on our personal connection with the Lord. If you’ve been following along in your Advent Calendar, you know this week’s theme is to "Seek a Fresh Touch from God". That’s something we could all use, isn’t it? Whether it means the experience of salvation that comes through Christ or a fresh touch of his renewing Spirit in our relationship with him, we all need a Christmas touch from the Lord.
STUDY OF ZECHARIAH TEXT
Zechariah had become spiritually sensitive from the heartache and hardships he and Elizabeth had faced. Nevertheless, he was not immediately willing to believe the incredibly good news the angel announced. Quite possibly that was because of the ruts that had formed in Zechariah’s life as the years had passed. (You know what a rut is, don’t you? No, it’s not the parts of a tree that go into the ground! A rut is a grave with air holes). Routines ruled Zechariah and Elizabeth’s days. Elizabeth had her checklist of regular chores. So did Zechariah (which, in this particular instance, included doing his time at the Temple). They had grown accustomed to the predictable ways in which God involved and didn’t involve himself.
Most of us cannot relate to the frustration and sadness of infertility. But almost all of us can certainly relate to what it means to be a hostage to ruts and routines. When is the last time you could validate any sense of the supernatural in your day-to-day existence? Has God seemed strangely distant in relationship to the longings of your heart? Do you feel worthless and useless; barren and lifeless?
I wonder if one of the lessons we might draw from this story of Zechariah and Elizabeth is that God delights in surprising us when we have given up hope. He’s a master artist when it comes to creating what we think is impossible (or recreating what we think we have screwed up for good). He’s a virtuoso whose delicate touch can bring a hauntingly beautiful melody out of the discord we have learned to live with.
Number 591 in our hymnal is called "Rescue the Perishing". The third verse brings to mind a musical instrument, perhaps an old violin whose strings have snapped due to the pressures and stresses of difficulty and fatigue. They are words that can give us confidence when, in the midst of the stressful, lackluster times of life, we are ready to give up on ever feeling God’s touch again.
"Down in the human heart,
Crushed by the tempter
Feelings lie buried
That grace can restore.
Touched by a loving heart,
Wakened by kindness,
Cords that are broken
Will vibrate once more."
Just because you aren’t expecting God to intervene is no reason to quit believing that he will. Just remember Zechariah.
No doubt you’ve heard this classic poem "The Touch of the Master’s Hand" which refers to the transforming touch of God.
VIDEO: "SEEK A FRESH TOUCH FROM GOD" Luke 1:5-12
I wonder if you are here today in need of a fresh touch of the Master’s hand in your life. The stress and demands of the Christmas season have plucked your strings one too many times. The discord of unresolved tensions and unmet expectations has reminded you of how out of tune you really are. As you force yourself to finish last minute shopping at the mall, pushing your way upstream against the current of loud, obnoxious shoppers. When someone rubs you the wrong way (or just brushes up against you) you want to shout, "Don’t touch me!" The thought of what’s to come this week under the tree and around the table is enough to make you put yourself on an auction block. Let me ask again. "Are you in need of a fresh touch of the Master’s hand?" Then let him pick you up and hold you in his life-giving hands.
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