Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, March 23, 2025
Shavuah Tov *|FNAME|*,
“Divine Disruption”
By Jerry Miller
“Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know this for certain? I’m an old man, and my wife is well-advanced in age.’” Luke 1:18
“Miriam said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am not intimate with a man?’” Luke 1:34
The first chapter of Luke’s gospel shows us two interactions initiated by the angel, Gabriel. In these interactions Gabriel informs two different people of the miraculous births they would soon be participating in. One is Zechariah, whose barren wife Elizabeth would be giving birth to John the Immerser (or baptizer). The other is with Miriam, who would be giving birth to Yeshua the Messiah, even though she had not been intimate with a man. In both interactions, Gabriel presents “impossible” scenarios that were about to unfold. While the responses of Zechariah and Miriam do have similarities, there was a key difference that marked these two responses. Miriam’s was a response expressing faith, while Zechariah’s was a response expressing skepticism.
We might say that Zechariah was asking the wrong question. Certainly it was understandable that he had questions. He and Elizabeth were both quite old, and again, Elizabeth had been barren. But looking at his response, it was as if he was asking, “how can I believe you…how can I trust what you are telling me when it doesn’t make sense?” His focus was on the impossibility of the situation, and thus he was essentially telling the angel Gabriel that he didn’t believe him. Gabriel was bringing a word from the Lord Himself, and Zechariah responded initially with skepticism. Miriam, however, was asking a different type of question. With her question, she was not doubting, but simply asking how it could be possible in light of her circumstances. When Gabriel explains that the Spirit of God would come upon her to accomplish this, her response to the impossible scenario presented to her was to believe the word and receive it.
Actually, I think Miriam’s faith response was quite amazing. Think about it. Considering what Gabriel was telling her would happen, this whole encounter must have been pretty unsettling to her. While Gabriel did answer her question, it was certainly not the kind of answer that brought clarity to what she was about to experience. Remember, Gabriel told her “The Ruach ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) will come upon you…” (v. 35). In other words, the pregnancy and birth would be a supernatural manifestation initiated and accomplished by God. But realistically, how reassuring would Gabriel’s answer have been to Miriam? We do not get a complete glimpse into Miriam’s inward processing of all this, but I suspect she would have been filled with questions and even confusion. I think we could say that God’s plan for Miriam was about to bring complete disruption to life as she knew it. She had to have realized that no one, including Joseph, to whom she was betrothed, would understand this. Remember, Joseph needed a visitation from an angel to assure him that Miriam had not been unfaithful. Miriam had to know she would be judged and rejected by friends, family and townspeople for allegedly being pregnant out of wedlock. But again, what we see is that her steadfast faith and trust for God prevailed. Rather than dwelling on how impossible and unreasonable and inconvenient this would be, Miriam simply gave the Lord her yes: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (v. 3).
In all this, there is a lesson for us to take in. It has to do with the idea of divine disruption, and our being a people of faith in the midst of divine disruption. There definitely are times when God speaks into our lives and it brings us peace amid the storms of life. We value and treasure such times, as we generally do not enjoy going through life’s storms. But God’s voice in our lives is not exclusively with the intent of ministering peace to our soul. Especially in times when God is preparing us to step into new seasons of our lives, there clearly are times when God speaks to us, and His word brings disruption. We see this repeatedly throughout the Bible, as God brings divine disruption to so many He called to step out in faith. Divine disruption is part of God’s means for helping us embrace the new seasons He has for us.
Sometimes we can find ourselves getting settled into comfort zones, and the idea of change is often challenging to our sense of security. But again, God does not hesitate to say or do things that will stretch us and break us out from our “comfort zones.” He wants to help us overcome our natural tendency to find our sense of security in comfort or predictability. Why? Because for each of us, there is a calling and destiny that requires faith, and our faith will not thrive if our highest priority is comfort and predictability.
Is God speaking to your life about new things He is preparing for you? Is He stirring your heart with a sense of there being new challenges and new levels of spiritual warfare? Is the Lord giving you vision for new things that don’t seem to make much sense—things that may appear to be utterly impossible? Don’t dismiss the idea that divine disruption is often part of God’s plan for our lives. Be on guard against doubt and skepticism in those times when God is leading you into things that just don’t make sense. Be on guard against clinging to what is familiar and thus dismissing God’s call to step out of your comfort zone. Let the words and the faith of Miriam be at the forefront of your heart: “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun 23-Mar-2025 23rd of Adar, 5785
Ex 38:21-39:1 Isa 14 Pr 11 Ac 10 (Rev 4)