Sunday November 13, 2005 | Scott Boren
"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 David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
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 our days.
In this prophetic song, Zechariah speaks a blessing over his new born son, John. He says, “And you my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.” John 1:76. These are words of blessing that form a foundation upon which John built his life and ministry. These words established him in the story of God and helped shape his identity.
In this prophetic song, Zechariah speaks a blessing over his new born son, John. He says, “And you my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.” John 1:76. These are words of blessing that form a foundation upon which John built his life and ministry. These words established him in the story of God and helped shape his identity.
Our generation is one that could be called fatherless. With distracted fathers and broken homes, children–whether young or old, live without the blessing that John had. As a result, they lack the foundation, a secure identity, that will serve as a rich seedbed for the life of God in them. As a result, they enter into a search to answer the question “Who am I?”
The roads taken to answer this question often lead to self-analyzing, personality profiles, self-help books and other introspective tools. The modern person evaluates his or her level of success comparing themselves to others, resulting in either vanity or self-belittling.
John’s identity was not formed this way. Zechariah spoke over John not out of what he saw in his son, but in what he saw in the works of God. In this song, there are over 35 references or illusions to the Old Testament story. Zechariah was speaking out of the experience with the faithful, merciful, covenant keeping God of Israel. He was not speaking out of the immediate knowledge of the now, but out of the long proven acts of God with the people of God.
To find the answer to the question, “Who am I?” I must look away from myself and look back into the history of this God. I cannot find who I am by analyzing myself. I can only find myself as I realize how I fit into the story of God. When I see that the Old Testament story is my story, who I am begins to manifest. Then as I live in this story of God, I can look to the future and receive hope that this faithful God will also work in my life to change me.