Sermon for December 6, 2015- The Stories that Pave the Way: Luke 1:68-79

Luke 1:68-79‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. 
He has raised up a mighty saviour for us
   in the house of his servant David, 
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 
   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant, 
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days. 
And you, child, will 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
   by the forgiveness of their sins. 
By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us, 
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

The Stories That Pave the Way: Luke 1:68-79 

The early parts of the book of Luke are kind of like our Christmas Cantata. There are a bunch of different songs and they can be sung together to tell us a story about the Messiah. In this cantata there are three solos and one song sung by the choir. Our Gospel reading for today is that the second solo, the one by the priest Zechariah. While the solo before his, Mary's song, might be a little bit better known, this song, too, is worth hearing. Mary's not the only one who has been visited by the Holy Spirit and who will soon have a surprising child. Zechariah's wife will soon have a baby boy, too. In many ways, this baby's birth is almost as surprising as Mary's child's. So surprising that Zechariah wasn't even sure that it would happen.  

Let's take a moment to remind ourselves just who Zechariah is. Zechariah might remind you of some other people we've learned about it the Bible. He is a priest. He is quite devout and quite elderly, as is his wife Elizabeth. She is a relative of Mary's. She is as devout as her husband, perhaps not surprising because she is descended from the line of Aaron, Israel's first priest. The Gospel of Luke tells us that they, like Abraham and Sarah, have wanted to have children, but have been unable to do so. In a society like theirs, to be without children was not just unusual, but often taken as a sign of disfavor from God. And, yet, though they certainly grieved their infertility, they also seemed to find comfort in their faith, following the commandments, with God's help, to the best of their abilities. Then, one day, something wonderful happens.  
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Wait. I bet you're thinking that I'm going to talk about a baby as the wonderful thing. Yes, eventually I will, but first, something else happens. Zechariah was chosen to give the offering of  incense in the temple. That may not sound that special to us accustomed to seeing incense used regularly in Christian churches. Some Christian priests get to burn the incense all the time. In Zechariah's time, things were different. Lighting the incense was a great privilege that was granted only once in a lifetime. Had this been the only thing that happened to Zechariah that day, it probably would have been enough for him to sing out in surprise and thanksgiving. As he lit the incense, an angel appeared inside. Obviously, Zechariah was filled with fear. That is a very reasonable response to a radiant angel suddenly appearing in an empty room with you. The scripture says that he was overwhelmed by his fear.  

In the dark inner room, with incense smoke swirling around them, the angel Gabriel looked at Zechariah and said, "Do not be afraid... for your prayer has been heard." Do not be afraid... this is certainly a powerful word to hear during a week following yet one more mass shooting. Do not be afraid for God will keep God's promises. God will provide for you what you have needed and your family... your little son... will be instrumental in changing this world. Gabriel told Zechariah that his boy would be a prophet, following in the footsteps of the prophet Elijah, and would prepare the people for the Lord. But, Zechariah, too overwhelmed by his fear and by the enormity of an already enormous day, could not quite believe what Gabriel was saying. Like Sarah, who we read about way back in Genesis, the one who laughed when she heard that she would be pregnant, Zechariah asked how could he know that this was actually going to happen. He knew that he and his wife were well beyond typical birthing years.  

Gabriel responds with something akin to "Are you kidding me? Look at me... I'm Gabriel. I glow and stuff. I have a giant sword. You can believe me. God told me to come bring you this good news." It seems a little harsh. Then, Gabriel tells Zechariah that since he didn't believe him, he would not speak until the day that the things he told him would happen actually happen. This, also seems a little harsh. I mean, Sarah didn't zapped for a giggle. Gabriel seems a little hot-headed. But, he is an angel who hangs out with prophets. That is not easy work. Perhaps it's not surprising that he is a little cantankerous. Zechariah became silent. Elizabeth also became pregnant. She was overjoyed and not nearly so overcome by fear as her husband was. Maybe she remembered the lesson from Sarah. She said, "This is what the Lord has done for me." But, even in her joy, she stayed in seclusion. No one seems to have known about the pregnancy until several months in when her young cousin Mary came to visit.  

Gabriel had come to talk to Mary, too. We'll hear more about their whole conversation in the coming weeks, but, one thing that they talked about was Gabriel confirming that Elizabeth was indeed pregnant. It's not clear why Mary came to see Zechariah and Elizabeth. I wonder if Mary was so awestruck by her own unlikely pregnancy that she had to go spend time with her older cousin who was also miraculously pregnant. Who else would believe them? Maybe they sat around sharing their hopes and fears for their sons. Maybe they just needed to complain about all the ways that being pregnant is super uncomfortable. We are not told exactly how they spend their time together. What we are told, is that while Elizabeth praises God and Mary sings her own joy, Zechariah is silent, unable to say aloud  whatever was on his heart and mind as he waited to see if his son would be born.  

Finally, the baby was born healthy and screaming into the world. Well, I'm mostly imagining the yelling. I know that this baby will grow up to be John the Baptist. I don't imagine that he was a very quiet kid. But, Zechariah still did not speak, even after he saw the baby born safely. Even holding that child in his arms did not take away his fear. For 8 more days, he was silent. Then, it came time for the child to be circumcised and named. The officiants were going to name the boy after his father, but Elizabeth stopped them. She remembered the words of the angel, and said to name the child John. This was a strange request, so they looked to Zechariah for confirmation. Zechariah, the one who has been silent for 9 months and 8 days, the one who has been afraid to believe the Good News, chose this moment to borrow some courage from his wife Elizabeth, to learn a little from her assurance that God keeps God's promises. He took a writing tablet, and wrote down four simple, life-changing words: "His name is John." His name is John. 

With that, something broke open in Zechariah. The Holy Spirit converted his fear to thanksgiving. Zechariah, the one who had been silent, began to prophesy. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them." And, what does this redemption look like? Mercy and a covenant remembered. Rescue from the hands of enemies. And, yet one more prophet, his son John, who will prepare the way for the very-inbreaking of God, Jesus Christ. Zechariah said, "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." God keeps God's promises. God will provide salvation. And, God's way is a way of peace. Who among us doesn't need to be reminded that God is with us when we sit in the shadow of death? Who here doesn't need God's help to stay in the path of peace? Zechariah was prophesying to his people then, and is still singing to us now.  
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 In a world that seems so violent, how can we gain the courage to sing the song of God's peace?  Where can we borrow the courage to write down the promises that God is fulfilling in our lives? These are our challenges for today. In the face of such hatred and bloodshed, fear is so tempting. So is fatalism. We can think there is nothing we can do to fix the brokenness around us, so we become silent and inert. But, Zechariah's story reminds that we are meant for more than our fear. God intends for us to live in peace. Christ will show us how we can help him build this peace in the world around us. The Cantata is not yet over. We still have to sing our song of peace and salvation. I pray that we will not choose silence. I pray that we have the courage to live in prayerful action. It is our turn to sing next.  

Resources that Pastor Chrissy used to write this sermon: 

Audrey West: https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=460

Rolf Jacobsen: https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2703

Elizabeth Webb: https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2703