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It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings

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Luke 1:7, 13, 18 But they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren; and both were far advanced in years….But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your petition was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must call his name John [God is favorable]….And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know and be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.

A Wikipedia article regarding the colloquialism, It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings, states: “This phrase is often used as a proverb. It means that one should not presume to know the outcome of an event which is still in progress. More specifically, the phrase is used when a situation is (or appears to be) nearing its conclusion. It cautions against assuming that the current state of an event is irreversible and clearly determines how or when the event will end. The phrase is generally understood to be a reference to opera sopranos, who were typically heavyset. The imagery of Wagner‘s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and its last part, Götterdämmerung, is typically used in depictions accompanying uses of the phrase. The “fat lady” is thus the valkyrie Brünnhilde, who was traditionally presented as a very buxom lady. Her farewell scene lasts almost twenty minutes and leads directly to the finale of the whole Ring Cycle. As Götterdämmerung is about the end of the world (or at least the world of the Norse gods), in a very significant way “it is [all] over when the fat lady sings.”

This colloquialism definitely applies to what transpires between Zachariah and the angel Gabriel. What is truly astounding is Gabriels’ casual comment: your petition was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. Why is this astounding? Twice, Dr. Luke emphasizes the fact: both were far advanced in years, and Zachariahs belief: For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years. But that is not the astounding part. The astounding part is, your petition was heard! I have a hard time believing Zachariah and Elizabeth were still praying for a child. In fact it is easy to believe that they had probably put this prayer request on the shelf, along with many other seemingly unanswered prayer requests. They had simply learned to accept these things as the way things were going to be. Most likely the future parents of John the Baptist had petitioned the Lord with this repeated, desperate request as they began seeing the window closing to the possibility. Surely, by this time, the “old man” had given up on that hope. What the angel was declaring just couldn’t be true. But how many of you know that the Bible is full of what seemed to be true events, trumped by even greater, truer events? In the beginning God released light, yet in the midst of His light being released there were lesser lights: the Sun, the moon, and stars. Jesus said in Jn. 8:32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. Jesus spoke this to Jews who had a revelation of the Truth (truth) in the Law, and the Prophets. Yet, as this was spoken, the Truth, the Greatest of ALL truths, stood before them declaring these things. What are we to make of this? Often we define truth by our perceptions of reality failing to enter into the Light of Truth, Jesus. Our circumstances may seem to be true – but there is a Greater Truth whose Name is Jesus. Now He is not an opera singer but He is a singer nonetheless, and He sings His song in a place of timelessness. What’s truly amazing is He sings His song over you and me. Rabbi’s believe God didn’t simply speak creation into existence, He sung it into existence. Possibly in Zacharias, and Elizabeth’s life the song hadn’t been finished and that’s why the manifestation of a prayer answered hadn’t come to their attention. What have you prayed about and given up on? Maybe it’s time for you to turn your ear to the song of the Singer, and listen for what He has to say. Luke 1:20 in the KJV reads: And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed…Maybe it’s time we confess to the Lord we have been dumb, and we need to learn to be still to know He is God; to listen and wait instead of speaking. Maybe it’s time that we take our place as a new creation and join in the song of the Singer. Chris Tomlin wrote a song by that name: Sing, Sing, Sing. The opening lyrics state: Sing, sing, sing and make music with the heavens. We will sing, sing, sing grateful that You hear us when we shout Your praise lift high the name of Jesus!

Recognizing Jesus

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Isaiah 1:3 The ox [instinctively] knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib, but Israel does not know or recognize Me [as Lord], My people do not consider or understand.

There’s a true story about a well known Dallas, Texas pastor, W.A. Criswell who pastored the First Baptist Church of Dallas. Because of its proximity to the downtown area Sunday morning winters often brought the challenge of a large homeless population who often sought warmth amongst the affluent worshippers. Ushers were tasked with the unwanted job of thrusting them back out onto the cold, and dirty Dallas sidewalks. But one particularly eventful Sunday morning one of the homeless made their way through the foyer, slipping pass the ushers, making his way to W.A.’s famous pulpit. Catching up to their prey the embarrassed ushers began yanking and pulling his arms which were firmly inserted into the overcoat that wreaked of garbage, urine, and alcohol. Not to be outdone by their substitute preacher they resolved to extricate him from his hallowed perch. To their shock and surprise, this homeless man wriggled out of his overcoat, (leaving it as prize to the ushers), tossed off his hat, revealing to an equally shocked congregation none other than Pastor W.A. Criswell. Needless to say they heard a message that morning that outlived even Pastor Criswell. That Sunday morning W.A. Criswell, lived the message of His Lord echoing Israel of old, who missed the day of their visitation. It’s hard to believe, even astounding, that many of FBC’s attendants failed to recognize their Lord in and through their pastor’s sermon illustration in the flesh. How often have we missed recognizing Jesus for Who He really is?

Recently I was soaking in the Spirit at Jesus’ feet. (Incidentally, He is our Door waiting for us to open the door to His Presence; open the door to spiritual vision, hearing, and feeling). Soaking, involves waiting, and waiting takes time. Time is something we falsely believe belongs to us. Just as sand spills through the hourglass, as surely as it falls from the hands of those who tightly cling to it. As I was soaking the Lord revealed something very profound. He exists outside of time. He is not limited or constrained by its dimensions. This is why He IS! Not I was or will be – He simply is – outside of time. The Great I AM! Science tells us that time is a construct relative to our position in the universe. Since this is true, verified through the Word of God (Let there be..), then we must reach the conclusion that time was created by God for man. Time is His gift to us. If we believe time is a gift then we must also believe it’s not really our time. It’s His time, His gift. This has powerful ramifications for those who know and recognize Jesus as Lord. You see when we “open” the DOOR of Jesus we open the DOOR to Timelessness, and Eternity. When we open the DOOR, we are invited to come before His Feet, to enter into Timelessness. Since that is true it must be equally true that you and I aren’t seen from our past or even our future. You are seen as eternal as He is. In essence you become one with the Eternal One, and everything revolves around, and becomes centered in Him. Paul rightly said in Ephesians 2:6 that we are seated with Him in Heavenly Realms. In other words we are seated in the Eternal Realm and your past, with its sins, failures, mistakes and regrets no longer matter. But this reality is only made available to those who know and recognize Him as Lord. Those who recognize Him as Lord live out the exhortation of Hebrews 4:16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. If I were not known to be a pastor surely there would be someone to admonish me for “wasting” my time soaking before the Lord. But if you know Jesus as Lord you know you are a sinner in need of Grace. Grace being the empowerment – the umph, the push, and desire – to become like Jesus in every way. Where do I find this Grace I am desperately in need of? At the feet of Jesus before His Throne. What physical posture would anyone take with a conscious awareness of being before His feet – before His throne? Quite simply you would figure out a way to go as low as you could humanly achieve, and you would not only take the time, you would make time to be where He sees you.