Tuesday, March 11th, 2025
Zechariah 3:1-10, NRSV
“Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?’ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you in festal apparel.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So, they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him in the apparel; and the angel of the Lord was standing by.
“Then the angel of the Lord assured Joshua, saying ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.’”
Reflection - Pastor Laurie Pfahler, Royersford United Methodist Church
To Satan the Accuser, Joshua was clearly a hot mess. But Joshua and Jerusalem found an advocate in the Lord. They were plucked from being consumed by the fire of sin. Washed clean, new clothes and a turban - - WOW, forgiven and ready to rock ‘n’ roll, right? There was more to forgiveness than that.
When we mess up, confess, sincerely repent, and are forgiven, what else happens? We are transformed. For that to happen, in humility we need to learn from our mistakes so that we don’t repeat them, and to renew our covenant with God. In our conversion, God open our eyes and gifts us with wisdom and knowledge to help us grow and serve better as God’s children. It is a new life in Christ for us, just as it was a new life for those returning from exile in Joshua and Zechariah’s time. It was their re-birth as a people just as Jesus spoke about us being “re-born” with Nicodemus. For them and for us, in forgiveness, faith, growth and covenant, we are assured of a wonderful future: the arrival of the Messiah; and, a beautiful place of comfort and sharing in a community of love and peace.
Holy God, help us remember that with forgiveness we must grow and be faithful to a covenant that, if kept in true faith and love, will bring us to a great future of community, peace, and love with Christ in his new Jerusalem. In his name we pray, Amen.
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