Fourth Advent
Luke 1:39-55
I’m kind of a bah-humbug when it comes to
all the accoutrements of Christmas. I’m not fond of shopping for Christmas
gifts, can’t stand the crowds, I consider putting up decorations a chore.
I like the music okay, but towards the end of the season even that begins to
wear a bit thin. I’m just not much of an enthusiast. Some people are—enthusiasts.
They jump right in to the spirit of things without hesitation, tripping all
over themselves with good Yule.People are different aren’t they?
Our lesson this morning portrays the exuberance
of two friends, cousins actually, Mary and Elizabeth. In this lesson we get
a beautiful picture of two women at either end of the childbearing spectrum
meeting with absolute giddiness over their joy of pregnancy. This scene has
been portrayed in countless artistic works because of its tenderness and genuine
human sensitivity. Why even our bulletin cover this morning is a good example.
This is a well-documented meeting.
But we seldom hear the story behind the story. The story behind the story was
so crucial to the gospel writer Luke that he uses it to begin his entire recounting
of the good news of Jesus Christ. How odd that the “good news” would
begin with Zechariah. We don’t know a good deal about Zechariah but what
Luke does offer is very telling. Zechariah was a priest of the order of Abijah.
He came from what was probably a small town in the hill country of Judea. He
lived there with his wife Elizabeth. They were both salt of the earth, good
people but there was sadness. They were childless. Elizabeth was barren. Now
according to the religious law of the time the inability to have children was
grounds for divorce but clearly Zechariah did not exercise that option. Perhaps
he had grown to love and respect his wife.
As a back woods priest Zechariah was periodically
called up for service to the temple in Jerusalem. And when it was his sections
turn, he went. He was a man of the cloth, a religious man, a respected man.
Now when the priests are serving at the temple they must choose one among them
to go into the sanctuary to burn incense to the Lord. This is such a privilege
that lest anyone feel slighted the priests cast lots for the opportunity. They
throw dice, or draw straws or flip a coin leaving it up to chance or happenstance
or God. Zechariah is chosen for this rare opportunity. We don’t know of
course but my suspicion is that he would not take this task lightly. I think
he would be awed; that his heart would pound and his hands perspire to be selected
to come into the presence of God.
So while the people pray outside he slowly prepares
the incense offering. “Let our prayers rise before you as incense…”
As he goes about the preparations an angel of the Lord appears to him. And since
this doesn’t happen every day he is terrified. But the angels says the
first thing angels always say, “Do not be afraid.” And that follows
with a declaration and explanation that Elizabeth will bear a son to be named
John. John will be called on to prepare the way of the Lord, the Messiah, the
one who Israel had been awaiting. The promise of the ages would be fulfilled.
The prayers of centuries of people and priests would be accomplished. And Zechariah’s
son John would be the herald, the fore-runner. One might expect Zechariahs to
be delirious with joy, to be doing handsprings—but no.
Instead Zechariah commits a tactical error. “How
will I know this is so?” he says. Oh Zechariah, Zechariah, Zechariah! You
don’t say these things to an angel. Even though you’ve seen a lot
of life and you’re a tad jaded and a little world-weary you don’t
question an angel. It’s just not good practice.
Catch what the angel has to say to him “I
am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to
you and to bring you this good news. But now because you did not believe my
words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to
speak, until the day these things occur.”
Poor Zechariah, if he’d had time to think
it through, to consider how amazing this all was he might have had a different
attitude. It’s just that the years and rough and tumble of life have made
him a little cynical, a bit skeptical. The times had taught him to be a little
less gullible, to steal himself against his vulnerabilities, to be cautious.
While he was a man of faith, he wasn’t an enthusiast; he wasn’t going
to be sucked in to any random phantom who appeared. Perhaps he was queasy from
a bit of undigested cheese and bread, a little lightheaded from the incense.
Now the angel Gabriel had a different experience
when he accosted Mary. She is much more the model for us of faithfulness. All
she says is “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according
to your word.” But then Mary was 13, 14, 15 at the outside. What did she
know of disappointment, heartache? What did she know of life! Didn’t everyone
have angel visitations? To Mary when God called, you answered. To Mary, if God
made a promise you believed it, you didn’t worry about the “how”
of it all you just accepted it. What a paragon of virtue, what an empty vessel
waiting to be filled? So Mary comes down to us through history as THE example
of faith.
But somehow I just can’t get Zechariah out
of my head. Maybe I begin to think I have more in common with him than I do
with Mary. Maybe his skepticism, his momentary lapse of utter and complete conviction
is more true to my spirit than Mary’s “here I am Lord”. Zechariah
does come through in the end. On the eighth day after the child’s birth
they bring him to the temple to be circumcised and named. The friends and relatives
are scandalized when Elizabeth tells them his name is to be John. Appealing
to Zechariahs better sense they bring him a tablet. He writes, “His name
is John.” And immediately Zecharias’s tongue is loosed and he can
speak again. Zechariah comes through. Zechariah too, comes to faith in God’s
promise! His timetable is just a little slower than Mary’s.
And so Luke is really giving us two models of
faith, two ways of responding to the “good news”.
But what’s really important about this story, what remains consistent,
is what God does. What with all the interest in maternal matters and temple
practices we might forget who the main actor is in these stories. God takes
center stage. God might just as well say, “I am a god who makes promises.
I am a god who keeps promise. I made a promise to Zechariah. He, like many of
us, was slow to believe. But I kept my promise! I made a promise to Mary. She
got it immediately and trusted completely. I kept my promise to Mary as well.
In Jesus Christ, the son to be born I made a promise to you. Some will be enthusiastic
and will get it right away. Some will ponder the matter a little longer. But
never fear. I am a God who makes promises. I am a God who keeps promises. I
will keep my Christ promise to you.
Amen.