Work on a farm is at the mercy of the weather. During the growing season, regular periods of rain are vital for a good crop, but for harvest, there need to be dry conditions. This usually coincides with hot conditions. As a boy, I remember summers when it was time ‘to bring in the hay’ on my grandmother’s farm, the farm which was directly across the street from my house. Every year the same, weeks of anxious talk about weather, consulting long-range forecasts, mumbling and grumbling. Then at long last, the fine weather would arrive, and the sweaty work would begin. If you lived within shouting distance you were conscripted to help (helping consisted of being yelled at by father and uncles over the noise of the Massey-Ferguson tractor and the clacking and clanging of the baler). At the end of each day’s work, with everyone sitting or standing around my grandmother’s kitchen, there would be a recount of the number of bales gathered up and which fields were complete. It was a kind of grousing gratitude – a kind of non-celebration, if you will (The Freeman clan was not exactly known for its celebrating).
But in contrast to this northern European heritage of mine, there are families who know how to party and to celebrate. For some folks, almost anything can count as a reason to sing and dance and make merry. We encountered many such families while living in Europe. And the lengths they would go to in making the event memorable! Birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, baptisms, engagements and weddings (of course!), or maybe just something to perk up a dreary winter’s night.
When God set things in motion for the birth of His Son, those blessed ones first involved, couldn’t help themselves from being giddy at the thought of being chosen, by the Creator Himself, to take part in something which would change their world forever. First Elizabeth, then Mary, and next Zechariah, take turns in ecstatic, prophetic praise. In one instant, they soar from total obscurity to being forever remembered, by much-revered name, in the eternal, written Word of God! They each found themselves perfectly synced with God’s Plan ‘A’ (something they couldn’t have dreamed up in a million years!) The resulting jubilation was the overflow of blessing and the Joy of sensing the very Presence of God Himself. We, too, can know this party spirit within us, and then we’ll ‘make hay while the Son shines’! PD
