I can’t tell you how many times one of us spoke those words to our mother. Mama actually had a little green book. It was one of those small, 5-year diaries with five sets of lines on each of 366 pages. Each little section had a spot at which to enter the date, and then about four lines on which to briefly record a memory.
That book was where Mama kept information about family and friends; birthdates, wedding anniversaries, anything of importance. And she didn’t limit herself to a specific five-year period. If she needed to record something, she would just flip over to whatever date it was, write in the year, and then write her note. On the rare occasion a page was already full, she would just draw a line over to the opposite page with an arrow pointing to the new entry.
She wrote in it quite a bit over the years. So, saying “You can write that in your little green book,” was not suggesting anything unusual. However, when we said it, we were not really interested in preserving history. Often, we were angry because she had just denied our request to do something. So, after the requisite wrangling-to-no-avail, we might say something like, “When I’m an adult, I am going to do that. And you can write that in your little green book!”
In those early days, it was not much more than a vocal pout. We were putting her on notice: someday we would be grown up; someday, no one could tell us what to do; someday, we would do whatever we wanted ... so, there.
As we aged and matured a bit, though, we began to see that our mother was not the simpleton we had originally thought, that her denials had been saving us from grief and/or injury. That didn’t stop us, though, from using that little refrain. We still said the words, but their meaning changed. Over time, when we said, “You can write that in your little green book,” it was as a declaration of our intention to accomplish something ... to ace a test, to achieve first chair in orchestra, to get a date with a certain person ... all those things so important to teenagers and young adults.
Now, well over half a century since one of us first threw those words in my mother’s face, I still say them. Oh, I often just say them in my head, but the meaning is still the same. I am declaring my intent, planting my foot, drawing a line in the sand, telling whomever will listen: make note. I will do this thing. It is going to happen. Period.
This week’s scriptures are all about spreading the word. They foretell of John the Baptist and his message, they tell about his life, and they share with us the outcomes. They are chock full of declarations about what is to come. Malachi was confident a messenger would come. Zechariah was confident his son, John, would be that messenger. Luke records that John received and spoke God’s message to all who would listen.
And the Letter to the Philippians has its own declaration about all of us who have come later. We, too, are entrusted to tell what we know of Jesus. Like John the Baptist, God will be developing us. And like Zechariah, Paul declares his confidence that God has a plan for us; that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” That is a prophecy about you.
And you can write that in your little green book.
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PHOTO: https://www.etsy.com/listing/648723161/vintage-five-year-diary-retro-1950s
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Second Sunday of Advent (December 9, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//
Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 1:68-79
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6
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We will gather at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant, Friday morning, for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00 and wrap things up around 9:00. We meet in the function room (the entrance is down the outside, near the back).
Join us.
Blessings,
Steve
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