Is God distant or does God visit us?
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| Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
When the Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth she prophesied to Mary (Luke 1:41–45). When the Spirit came upon Mary she sang a prophetic song (1:46–55). Now in verse 67 we find that Zechariah “was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied” a song recorded in verses 68 through 79. The opening word of this song in Latin is Benedictus (“Blessed”), so the song of Zechariah is known as “The Benedictus.” This song has also been used in worship since the earliest days of the Christian faith.
One theme of the song of Zechariah is the visitation of God. We find it mentioned again in verse 78: “Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven.” The theme of God’s visitation is rich in Scripture. The faithful people of Israel continually looked forward to those moments when God would come to visit his people.
The Greek word for visit used in verses 68 and 78 is episkopeo, from epi and skopeo. The word skopeo is related to the English word scope, while epi simply intensifies the idea of the word to which it is added. The type of visit in view, then, is not a causal, drop-in appearance but a stay to carefully scrutinize the situation. Bishops are called episcopos because they are the overseers of the flock of God. They are called to visit the sick, the imprisoned, the hungry. They are given scrutinizing care of God’s people.
Jesus is the Bishop Incarnate of our souls. His visit to this world was cloaked in mystery and has changed the course of history. He came, not as a military general, but as a baby in a rock-hewn crib. But he came to care for our souls. He came with divine blessing and redemption.
For those who love his coming his next visit will be an occasion of unspeakable joy and glory. At the visit the consummation of his Bishop’s task will be complete.
When we become God’s children we serve as God’s ambassadors. In this way, through us, God continues to visit people in our world. Consider that you represent the loving care of Christ to the one you can visit this week to bring the Lord’s joy and peace. Can you be an ambassador to an aged church member, a lonely friend, a prison inmate, a neighbor … ?
