June 19, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘Who are these?‘ Zechariah asked. Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, ‘They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.’ And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, ‘We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.’ Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?‘ So, the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.” (Zechariah 1.10-13)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As I have put before you that the “man in the myrtles” is the angelic form of the Christ of God, His Son, I hope that you can see Jesus of Nazareth, God’s only begotten Son, in the Garden on that last day. Remembering how, after they had shared the Seder feast and Jesus had taught them through prayer what was in their future, Jesus then took the Eleven to the Garden of Gethsemane. In an olive grove opposite the East Gate and the full prominence of the Temple, He took three disciples with Him apart from the rest. It was not unusual for Jesus to sometimes share only the company of Peter, James and John. They were His inner circle of the inner circle. Beyond the Twelve, now only Eleven as Judas had departed at Jesus’ behest to “do what you must do and do so quickly,” there was another circle of those who were being discipled to be disciples. They included the Marys, some of the disciples’ families, those who had been healed and chose to follow the Master of their healing and others who felt the call to follow. Some say the number was as much as 120 in all. In this moment on Gethsemane’s hill, there were only twelve. Jesus and the three chosen to take the lead when their time had come. Can you see in Zechariah something similar? There is “the man in the myrtles” and three other riders: Justice, Execution of Justice and Redemption. How these three identities apply to Peter, James and John is not the subject of this reflection. I point it out that we are being given a foretaste of what was ahead. It doesn’t end there, however, knowing that these four in Zechariah and in the Gospels were together in a grove of trees.

There is another significant similarity between the two events. As the conversation between Zechariah and “the man in the myrtles” progresses, He leaves His horse and stands on His feet as if to walk toward Zechariah. Living in horse country, the bluegrass state of Kentucky, it is not an infrequent thing to see a rider step down from his or her horse. They do not walk away, however. Whether it is a walk for gentle exercise or training or the Kentucky Derby, the rider remains at the side of the horse. As the rider inspects the horse there is gentle touches, caresses, words of comfort and affection and the occasional hand full of food. If you have never touched the muzzle of a horse you have missed a soft and gentle touch. I doubt that the “angel of the Lord” walked away from the horse. I can see it being led gently to a resting place or to the place where the other three were gathered together. Jesus, too, walked in the Garden. He asked the three disciples to wait in a particular place. Perhaps they had been there before and found comfort in it. They became too comfortable and soon fell asleep. Even in the midst of dire circumstances, the events of what we call “Holy Week” culminating so far with the Seder Feast celebrating Passover was emotionally draining. It took its toll on them physically as well. Jesus walked to them three times after praying to God His Father.

It is here that we see another similarity between the two events of Zechariah and Gethsemane. Having heard the report of the other riders, the “man in the myrtles” was disturbed and pleaded with God on Jerusalem’s behalf, indeed for all God’s people called Israel. Jesus prayed three prayers: His Father’s will be done; His Father’s inevitable will be done; and the resignation that His Father’s will was being done. And what is powerful for me in this not merely the connection between the events, the parallel between the “man in the myrtles” and Jesus, but the comfort of God’s word in response. With it, I am called back to the simplicity of the Garden of Eden where God walked with Adam and Eve. He was silent only one time. That one time was the testing of Adam and Eve as the Accuser, the Serpent- Satan, slithered down to them from the Forbidden Tree and challenged their understanding of God. In the myrtle grove, the Angel of the Lord cried out in intercessory prayer and was heard by God who spoke “kind and comforting words.” Like a jockey stepping down from the horse with gentle touches, kind and comforting words and food for thought, God did the same for His own. He does it for us as well, as we hear the news of the day and feel its burden on God’s people. It would have been from the vantage point on Gethsemane’s hill where Jesus was praying that He had been before with another prayer. In Luke 19.44, we hear Jesus crying out “If only you knew what truly made for peace.” He wept bitter tears as should we.

The only real comfort we can find is “what truly makes for peace.” That is what the rest of Zechariah’s prophetic book is all about. Let’s be prepared for the “rest” of the story.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.