(A sermon story/communion meditation by Gary Ritner based upon Luke 1:5-25, 57-80, delivered at Hillcrest UMC on December 1, 1996)
I am Zechariah, father of John the Baptist and husband of Elizabeth. She and I had always been righteous keepers of the law, born to families of priests -- PK's or preacher's kids you might call us today.
I lived in the hill country and only came to Jerusalem two weeks out of the year to serve in the Temple. I was not living near the Temple like the priests with prestige. I was not an important person.... not the High Priest -- farthest thing from it.
So it is remarkable to me that an angel would come to me to proclaim that I would be the father of the one to Prepare the Way of the Lord and the coming of the Messiah.
Let me take you there as I recall how it happened.
The Temple was more like a museum in those days. Fewer people came to the Temple than in previous years. It was not what it used to be. It was not a likely place for great revelations.
Elizabeth and I could not have children. We were beyond the years of normal childbearing. Elizabeth felt shame for not having children. We had given up hope for a child.
My name, Zechariah, means Yawheh Remembers. Yahweh remembers his people? Right!! I felt like God had forgotten us. I had grown impatient. There were no miraculous signs in 400 years. There were no great Prophets like Elijah any more. Roman rule had been so oppressive. The Promised Land was now inhabited by enemy soldiers.
Elizabeth's name means "An Oath of God." God's oath was that God would save us, but where was our salvation now?
My division was responsible for offering up the incense this week. Lots were drawn to see who would be the one this day. Some never would get a chance, and one would be allowed to do it only once in their lives.
My name was drawn. I was so excited to be honored in this way. It was the chance of a lifetime. At dawn on this day, people were outside kneeling and praying as I offered up the incense. The incense rose like our prayers to God.
Then it happened! Standing on the right side of the altar... an angel appeared. I nearly fell over.
The Angel Gabriel spoke to me as I shook in fear.
"Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John."
"And you will have joy and gladness. and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb."
"And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
As I heard these things, my first reaction was NOT good. I did not believe that it was even possible for people our age to have a child.
I had become cynical about God's promises for a Messiah as well. Israel had been waiting for hundreds of years and no Messiah had arrived yet. So, I had become short-tempered about the long delay in the fulfillment of God's promises.
I blurted out.... "Say what?!!!! Right!!?? I am an old man and my wife is beyond childbearing years."
Oops, that was not the right reaction to the Promises of God. The Messenger from God was not pleased with my reaction. He said, "I am the Angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. And I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."
Gabriel told me that my son-to-be would prepare the way of the Lord. I could have rejoiced at the news. I could have helped to prepare the way.
Instead, I was about to get in the way. I was questioning the good news. I could have undermined the whole plan if Gabriel had LET my cynicism get in the way.
Then I went out of the Temple where the people were kneeling. Immediately they knew that something extraordinary had happened. I tried to speak and could not.
Through writing, I told Elizabeth what had happened. Immediately she believed and was filled with joy and gladness that God's promises would be fulfilled.
For nine months I remained unable to speak. I learned a valuable lesson about waiting patiently for the fulfillment of God's promises and living in hope until they come to pass.
Elizabeth and Mary shared their great joy about the children they would bear... the forerunner... and the Messiah. Elizabeth helped me to believe over those months. During that time my cynicism melted under the warmth that God's good news brought to my heart.
Then our baby was born -- born to us old folks! What a wonderful miracle! We gathered on the eighth day after his birth for the rite of circumcision and his naming. On this day we would affirm that we did believe in the covenant with God. We would reaffirm that we would be God's faithful people. We would witness to how God had brought light to our darkness.
As the family gathered for the event, most assumed that the baby would be named Zechariah after me. But Elizabeth said, "Not so, he shall be called John" (meaning 'the grace of God').
But some of the relatives said. "none of your kindred is called by that name." And then they asked me to overrule Elizabeth's attempt to name him John and I wrote on a tablet, "His name is John."
In that moment ... in that act of faith ... as I accepted the words of the Angel Gabriel deeply in my heart... as I accepted fully the promises of God and believed in them wholeheartedly, my tongue was loosed and I could talk again. In that moment my heart was filled with the Presence of God and I witnessed to those gathered so that I might prepare the way of the Lord in their hearts: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham and to us,
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring will visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
This child of mine, John, grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness.... until he began publicly preaching repentance and preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah.
The Promise of the Messiah would be fulfilled in my lifetime. "The people who walked in darkness (would) see a great light; those who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on them (would) light shine." (Is 9:2)
All of YOU have heard this good news. The Promises HAVE been fulfilled. The Messiah HAS come and continues to be present among us even today. And yet we are still waiting for more -- we are waiting for the Second Coming.
In the midst of darkness, may the Promises of God give you hope. Do not give up hope, for one day soon all these things shall come to pass and you will see the salvation of God. Until then, live with joy and gladness in the hope of God's promises to be fulfilled in their time.
As you await the Second Coming, may your heart be filled with faith in knowing that God can do great things for you and through you even now. Serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness.
Yes, the Messiah will come again in glory, but the Messiah has already come and lives among us. Let your hearts be filled with the light of God's love as you wait.
Do not get in the way of God's promises! Instead, prepare the way of the Lord!
Come to the Lord's Table. Believe in the Promise of salvation.
Receive this bread and drink from this cup,
knowing that the Messiah will one day dine with you
face to face in glory. Prepare the way of the Lord!