Sleeping Policemen

Guyana is an English-speaking country, but that does not mean that I easily understood everything as it was first spoken to me. For example, Main Street has several “sleeping policemen,” or should I say that there are several speed bumps on Main Street?

The book of Zechariah can be just as confusing. “On the 24th day of the 11th month…” (verse 7), or should I say on February 15, 519 BCE. But it gets worse. Verse eight speaks of a sorrel horse. Everyone in Guyana knows that Sorrel is a drink that is especially good at Christmas time with black cake. The reality is that not everything in the book of Zechariah is easy for us to understand, just like not everything in Guyana easily translates into the Canadian context. And yet, the overarching message gets across.

As we look forward to Christ the King Sunday and then the beginning of a new church year, Zechariah reminds us that there is always mercy. The city and the temple shall be rebuilt, and God’s people shall be restored. Words like peace and hope shall be in the people’s hearts and on their lips. God’s people in 519 BCE and 2014 CE want the same thing. God’s people in Guyana and Canada cling to the same hope.

Comforting God, through your word unite us as one people in you. Amen. — VSR