The Rookie Zone
By Pastor Tim Shaw
In Luke chapter 1, Mary the mother of Jesus has an encounter with an angel that throws her life into what I like to call the “rookie zone”.
Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Mary is suddenly in the rookie zone. She doesn’t understand what the angel is saying to her. She’s got questions. She hasn’t shared any of those questions out loud yet, but it’s my bet that she’s begun to honestly ask them to herself.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. I think the angel Gabriel understood what Mary was going through. Being in rookie mode can sometimes make us nervous, even afraid. So, the angel speaks to Mary’s fears. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Mary now reveals that she knows that she is in rookie mode. “How can this be? I don’t understand what you’re saying to me. What you’re saying is impossible. I’m not going to have marital relations with my fiancé, Joseph, until after we’re married. So what are you talking about?” Having the freedom to voice our questions, seek input and ask for help is part of the beauty of rookie mode.
35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” Now watch Mary pivot. Watch her embrace her rookie status and simply entrust herself to God. 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Mary probably still doesn’t understand what the angel is saying to her. How could she? Nevertheless, right there in rookie mode she says, “Yes” to God’s will for her life.
There are all sorts of pressures on us to avoid admitting how much we remain rookies in life in general and as followers of Christ in particular. Many of us don’t like being rookies. But could it be that God might have some of his best gifts for us that he can only give to us if we are in rookie mode?
It’s true that nobody wants a rookie airline pilot flying the 777 you’re on from Honolulu to San Francisco. No one wants to be seen by a rookie cardiologist when you show up at the ER with chest pains. BUT, at the same time, you also don’t want an airline pilot who has stopped learning or can’t hear the warnings the first officer sitting next to him in the co-pilot’s seat is trying to get him to understand. You don’t want a cardiologist who is so cocky that they are not continuing to develop their skills. I want people, who are in positions of great responsibility, to be people who can pivot from their experience to learning mode.
Rev. Roger Owens from Pittsburg Theological Seminary said this about the birth of Jesus, “At Christmas we will be remembering that God came as a weak, vulnerable child into our world. And He came into this world, not a perfect world safe enough for a child God. He came into our world, a dangerous world. A world that knows how dark the darkness can be, how deep the pain can go, how gripping the fear can become, how endless the grief. This is the world He entered as a child. And we call this child the light, the light that shines in the darkness. And as hard as it is to believe sometimes, the darkness did not overcome Him, and it has not, and it will not.”
The amazing news of Christmas is that God deliberately made Himself a rookie. Thank God that He did because His willingness to enter our broken human story as a rookie has made our forgiveness, our healing, and everlasting life possible. God became a helpless child growing up in a poor family. He entered our world as a child who needed to learn how to eat solid food, to dress Himself, to learn to speak, to throw and catch a ball, to learn everything that you and I had to learn how to do. God deliberately made Himself a rookie. He fully entered our human experience. He chose learning mode and I think God did that for many reasons. And I’m convinced that one of the reasons He did was to set us free to be rookies as well.
Mary had at least three potential responses to the promises made to her by the angel. First, Mary could have said, “Nope! That’s impossible. There’s no way that is going to happen and I want nothing to do with it.” Mary could have chosen to walk away from it all and sadly, that is the choice many make when they hear about Jesus and His claims. There is a second possibility. Mary could have said, “Yep, I’ve got this. Now that I have this promise of a child, I will get to work on that and in my own efforts I will bring forth the Son of God.” That was never going to happen. Many of us chose this option. We will redeem ourselves through our own human efforts. We will try and save ourselves. That only leads to frustration and exhaustion. We can’t save ourselves.
But there is a third option. This is the one Mary chose. It’s an option that is available to us only when we’re in rookie mode. Mary recognized how great her need really was and simply took God at His Word. She admitted her utter inadequacy and chose to entrust her life to the God Who promises. She says, “Here I am Lord. There is no way I can make this happen but even though I don’t understand how, I know You can fulfill your promises. So, I give myself to You. Would You fulfill Your Word in me?”
Could it be that one of the best gifts you and I could receive this Christmas is the freedom to admit to ourselves, and to other trusted people in our lives, just how much of a rookie we remain in many areas of our life, including our relationship with God? The great God who created the universe, the one who has all knowledge chose to make Himself a rookie for our sake. No matter what our age or life experience, whether we’re younger or older, could it be that you and I will begin to find the healing and the hope we seek this Christmas when we embrace the truth that we are indeed still rookies with so much to learn and room to grow?
Prayer: Loving God, how thankful we are that You chose to come to us as a child. May we come to You as a child would come to their parent, entrusting ourselves again into Your compassionate and wise care. May we find deep rest and peace in your never-ending love. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
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