Luke 1:5 - 25
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both well advanced in years.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
The birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth is no less improbable than the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Zechariah and Elizabeth were advanced in age and found the report that they would be parents to be completely ludicrous.
Zechariah responded to Gabriel's message with fear and hesitation. You and I might have responded the same way.
Zechariah's response to the angel's message was typical in the Bible. When angels showed up on the scene it signaled that some kind of change or alteration was coming. The persons involved in the angelic message would need to adjust their lives if they were to fully participate in what God was bringing to pass in the world.
Zechariah hears a message that his life is going to be turned upside down. God will do something amazing in his life, but it would require his participation and obedience. It scared him. It would be enough to scare any of us.
Most always, the God-invitation is to let go of old ways of being and doing. We are invited to let go of the things we hold onto for meaning and purpose.
Letting go is frightening. It threatens our sense of self. We are afraid that without the thing we are giving up, we won't know who we are.
"If I let go of this, what will be left of me?"
"Who will I be then?"
It is scary to move into a place where I have no idea what is going to happen . . . no control and no capacity to influence outcomes.
This is authentic faith . . . stepping forward, carrying our fears with us, but at the same time walking into the room that is not yet lit and trusting that somehow we will find God there.
I suspect this was Zechariah's fear, and that it became his faith, the source of his beautiful Benedictus (The Canticle of Zechariah in Luke 1:67 - 78).
And I know Zechariah's fear (and faith) is not that different from mine, and probably yours, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment