The Rev. Julie Guengerich Hutson
Malachi 3: 1-4 Luke 1: 68-79
Philippians 1: 3-11 Luke 3: 1-6
Within the darkness of our days, come Lord Jesus, be our light. Amen.
This is the time of year when tucked into many of the Christmas cards we receive from far and near I find it….the holiday Christmas letter. Reading these letters basically just makes me feel inadequate about how my year has been. I read things like: “Just before we addressed 289 holiday cards in Calligraphy, we gathered in our kitchen to make homemade marshmallows for our hot chocolate and look at little Jimmy’s Straight A report card. Our Sally will be home from Harvard next week, after she returns from a side trip to Africa, where she is helping them solve the problem of world hunger.”
Our cards, which have been known to be sent out on January 2nd, which is, technically still the Christmas season in the church year, sometimes contain a newsy Christmas letter. It often says things like “we managed not to burn down the house or land in the hospital this year. Praise God.”
This morning I want you to imagine with me that Zechariah and Elizabeth are writing a holiday letter….which technically wouldn’t happen because Jesus hadn’t been born yet and they were Jewish. But work with me on this, because what happened to them was pretty interesting and would make for really good reading.
(Picks up letter, clears throat) :
Shalom dear friends and family!
What a year it has been for us! All of Zechariah’s duties as priest at the temple have kept us busy with the usual activities. You know we are not getting any younger and it is harder and harder for Zechariah to do what he has done during all these years of faithful service. But we carry on.
A strange thing did happen one day, there at the temple, in the middle of worship. The Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that I, Elizabeth would have a son who would be a prophet before God. This was hard for Zechariah to believe, especially given our age, so when Zechariah challenged the angel, he was struck mute and was unable to speak throughout the entire pregnancy!
For yes, friends, it was true! We were finally, finally, going to have a child…after such a long time without one and at our advanced age! Yes, it looks like for an old priest and his wife, we’ve still got it!
Well, we had a son and we’ve named him John. When we took him to the temple to be circumcised and named, the priests, of course, wanted to name him Zechariah, Jr. But the angel had told us to name him John. Even though the priests didn’t want to listen to me…they said “none of your relatives are named John”, Zechariah backed me up, writing on a tablet “His name is John.”
As soon as he wrote that and showed it to them, his voice returned!
Other than that, we are adjusting to having a new baby around the house at our age….he’s a good sleeper and if you go on the social networking site THEbook, we’ve posted some cute pictures. Zechariah has resumed his duties at the temple, now that he has his voice back. All of us wish you and your family God’s peace.
Love, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and baby John.
This story is actually what happened to Elizabeth and Zechariah….it’s in the earlier part of Luke, Chapter 1.
What Elizabeth didn’t include in her holiday letter, but what was our Psalmody, or our ancient song, today was Zechariah’s response when his voice was returned to him. He began to sing a song of praise to God.
Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel, you have come to your people and set them free….Zechariah begins….Through your holy prophets, you promised of old to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember your holy covenant. This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship you without fear, holy and righteous before you all the days of our life…he continues…And you, child, Zechariah says looking at his newborn son, John, you shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way, to give God’s people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace…he concludes.
You know, we forget that the Bible is filled with stories like this one…great, interesting, stories of God’s people and the way God uses them and the way, more often than not, they mess up God’s plan. And I particularly love this story because who among us wouldn’t have a question or two for Gabriel? Who among us, when we receive unexpected news about the way that God is moving in our lives, or when we learn that God’s plans might not match exactly with our plans, doesn’t question the messenger, even just a bit? And what a lovely parallel to Gabriel’s visitation and similar message to Mary. You will bear a son. His name will be John. You will bear a son. His name will be Jesus.
But Zechariah’s story, of this doubtful priest whose first words when his voice returns are songs of praise to God has become an integral part of the Christian Scriptures. Zechariah’s song is sung as a part of Matins or Morning Prayer. It’s text has been formed into many hymns, as we discovered this morning. What in incredible, amazing song of praise and story of faith.
What we know of Zechariah is that he continued to serve faithfully. If he was an old man when John was born, it is certain that he had some inkling that he would not still be alive when John’s prophecy was fulfilled. That he would not still be alive when the valleys were filled and the mountains were leveled. When the reign of Christ finally came to be, Zechariah knew that he would not be a witness to these things.
And yet, he continued to serve.
Our culture is one that demands immediate gratification. We have fast food and rapid rewards and instant cash. If it were to be suggested that we devote our lives to something that we might not see come to fruition, I suspect that we would search for another way. We do not eagerly participate in tasks that do not bring us a swift and direct outcome.
But the call to serve God is a call to work toward a day that we eagerly anticipate and yet cannot predict. It is also a commitment to serve a mission that may not come to full completion until a time long after we are gone. In many respects, this is stewardship. We steward the earth and care for it so that it will continue to provide a healthy home for the generations yet to come. We support our religious communities so that they will serve the communities around us long after we are gone.
And that is not easy. Because who among us doesn’t want to see the end result of our work? It is human nature and it is the way we are wired. And in some ways, we are so very blessed when we are a witness to these things along the way. Donna and Mary both watch the children they’ve taught in Sunday School and kept in the nursery as they grow into remarkable people…and taller than either of them, I might add. Those of us who volunteer with Mary’s Place thrill to the stories of the women and children who finally have housing. The people who imagined what a community garden might look like here can walk through it now.
But not everything that is begun among us will come to completion in our time. And yet, it will most certainly come to completion in God’s good time. This was Paul’s message to the Christians at Philippi in our second reading today. He wrote “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”
This is true for us as well. While the culture asks “What’s in this for me?” or “What will this cost me?” the church is called to prepare. We are to prepare a way for the Lord. We are to look forward to that time when every obstacle to justice is leveled and every chasm keeping us from peace is filled. When the crooked paths of self interest give way to the smooth paths of service to and with others. That will be the day of the Lord. And it may not come in our lifetimes, but during this Advent season we are called to watch for glimpses of it to break into the world, all around us. And we are called to participate in that work, like Zechariah…like Paul…..like Elizabeth…like Mary…until Jesus comes among us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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