Delivered December 4, 2011
This month we are going to be looking at the Advent and Christmas stories in the Gospel of Luke. Luke has more to say about the events that lead up to the birth of Jesus than any other gospel. Mark’s gospel does not mention Christmas at all. John’s gospel has poetic references to the incarnation (“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”) but none of the stories. Only Matthew and Luke tell the stories, and Luke has twice as much material as Matthew. Luke starts the Advent story way back with events leading up to the birth of John the Baptist, who has Jesus’ cousin. That is what we are going to be looking at today. Luke’s Gospel starts with an older couple named Zacharias and Elizabeth, who lived in the hill country of Judah south of Jerusalem. They were past the age of childbearing. Back then children were your future. When you became too old to work in the fields, your kids supported you. There was no Social security or 401(k)s. Your kids were your retirement plan. So people wanted kids not just so they would hear the pitter-patter of little feet around the house. Having children was an economic necessity.
The Gospel of Luke begins with this older couple living alone in the country. They were good religious people. Our text says, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Zacharias was a priest. There were lots of priests in those days, more than they needed for the temple responsibilities. So they took turns officiating at the temple in Jerusalem. There were so many priests that a man could go through his entire life and never officiate at the temple. They used to draw lots to see who would have the privilege of going into the holy place. As the gospel of Luke opens, Zacharias has been given the once-in-a lifetime honor of officiating at the temple. That is where the story begins. There are five things that this story tells us about Advent.
I. First, it says that Advent can be a time of barrenness. Verse 7 says of this couple, “But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.” The word barren is used. Back then they blamed childlessness on the woman. The men never thought it was their fault. Now we know more about what prohibits conception. But still the word “barren” is striking. The Christmas story starts with barrenness. They had no child, and they were sad.
The holiday season today is not always a time of joy. It can be sad for some people. The death of a loved one during the year can make the holidays difficult. Some people experience increased stress, depression, and anxiety during the holidays. Cultural expectations are high that this is supposed to be a joyous time of year, but that is not the case for all people for any number of reasons. Not only death, but also illness, divorce, separation, unemployment, or financial pressures can make this a tough time of year for people. Therefore it is appropriate that the passage for today starts off with a family having a blue Advent. It is a matter of perspective. For some people the holidays are “the most wonderful time of the year.” For others it is a blue Christmas.
A family had twin boys whose only resemblance to each other was their looks. Opposites in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist. Just to see how deep the difference was, one Christmas their father loaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist's room he loaded with horse manure. Later that day the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. "Why are you crying?" the father asked. “You have all these wonderful gifts!” He replied, "My friends will be jealous of me because I got all these gifts. Also, I'll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff. I'll constantly need batteries, and I know that eventually all my toys will get broken." Passing the optimist twin's room, the father found him joyfully digging and playing in the pile of manure. "What are you so happy about?" he asked. “You got a roomful of manure.” To which his optimist replied, "If there is manure, there's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"
How about you? What is your situation? Maybe it is not a matter of temperament. You might have good reason not to be so full of holiday joy this Christmas. It is important to acknowledge that the holidays may not be the perfect storybook picture. This passage acknowledges that reality.
II. Second, Advent is a time of prayer. Our story takes place in the temple. They may not have any kids, but Zacharias has been given the honor of officiating at the daily sacrifices in Jerusalem. He has dreamed of this day all his life. It is a consolation for him. Furthermore, he is going to use this opportunity not only to offer the required sacrifices for the people, but to offer a personal prayer as he goes into the holy place. There were lots of priests doing lots of jobs in the temple. But Zacharias’ division of the priesthood had the honor or going into the holy place, the small structure at the heart of the temple grounds, and burn incense on the altar of incense. The Jews believed that the temple was the one place on earth closest to God, and that your prayers were more likely to be heard by God there. Jews still today offer prayers at the Western Wall, the only remaining part of this same temple. They write prayers and put them into the cracks of this so-called Wailing Wall. I have done this whenever visiting at Western Wall in Jerusalem. Even though I don’t believe God hears my prayers more in that place, I still put my hand against that wall and pray. In fact the last time I was there the Jewish man beside me offered me his prayer book. He thought I was an Israeli Jew and had forgotten mine!
Today this is the most holy site in the world for a Jew to pray. When the temple was in operation 2000 years ago the moment that the incense was offered each day was the most holy moment. It was thought that the prayers mingled with the incense and went to the throne of God. In fact there are three passages in the Book of Revelation that refer to this. Revelation 8:4 says, “the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God.” Zecharias used his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the Holy place of the temple offering incense to say a personal prayer. His prayer, like it had been for years, was for a child.
Advent is a time of prayer for us. This month is wonderful with the music and the decorations and special foods and celebrations. But let’s not forget to make it a time of prayer.
III. Third, Advent is a time for answers. In Zacharias’ case his prayer was dramatically and immediately answered. The answer was hand delivered by the angel Gabriel who suddenly appeared beside the altar of incense. It says in verse 11-14 “11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.”
Advent can be a time for answers. I recently read a short article by former president Jimmy Carter on his prayer life. He says, “I understand that God answers prayers in different ways. Sometimes he answers “yes,” sometimes he answers “no.’ Sometimes he answers late, and sometimes he answers, “You’ve got to be kidding!” Advent is a perfect time to seek answers to some of those big issues in your life. We each have some concerns in our lives that persist. Advent is a time to address the issue, and to hopefully get some answers. Maybe they have to deal with hurt and forgiveness. This may be the time to patch up relationships that have been strained. This is a perfect time of year to ask forgiveness and to give forgiveness. In either case it is a wonderful Christmas gift. Maybe this is the season to say “Thank you” to someone whom you have never thanked for his or her influence on your life. What a wonderful gift to give. Maybe this is the season to work through some emotional or spiritual problems. To pray and seek with all your heart until they are resolved. Advent can be a time for answers. You probably won’t have your answer hand-delivered by an angel, but who knows?
IV. Fourth, Advent may be a time for doubt. In the story Zacharias receives a tremendous answer to his prayers. He is promised that he and his wife would have a son named John. Not only that, but John was going to become a great prophet of God who was going to prepare the way for the Messiah. You would think that Zacharias would jump up and down and shout Hallelujah! But he doesn’t. His first reaction is doubt. It literally feels to him to be too good to be true. Zacharias answer to the angel is in verse 18 “And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” He is saying, “How can I be sure? How can I believe you?” He doubted.
Advent can be a time of doubt for us. This doubt can take many forms. We can doubt the whole Christmas story, or at least parts of it. This is the time of year where we read about some pretty amazing things in the Bible stories. Angels? Not just this angel appearing to Zacharias, but we have angels throughout the Advent and Christmas stories. Are angels real, imaginary, symbolic or what? How about the virgin birth? Even Joseph didn’t believe that one when he heard it for the first time! And he heard it straight from Mary. How can we in a scientific age believe such an idea? The star of Bethlehem? Did that really happen? Wise men from the East? All these stories sound more like myths than history. Can we really be expected to believe such things? Intellectually we may struggle with these gospel accounts. Zacahrias could not even believe that he was going to be a father in his old age. He could not believe that his son would be a prophet. We are asked to believe much more than that!
What do these stories point to? Even more than the supernatural claims, we might struggle with the theological claims. All these stories point to the one major Christmas truth – that God became man in Jesus Christ. That is the central message. Please don’t get hung up on the details - how an egg can be miraculously fertilized in the womb or what the Star of Bethlehem really was. Those issues are nothing compared to the central claim of Christmas. That Jesus was more than a human being, that he was divinity enfleshed in humanity. This is what it is all about. And this is what many people doubt is true.
And then there is the spiritual aspect. Even if we can believe the claims that Jesus is the Son of God, can we respond to him in faith? Can we follow him? Can we give our lives to him? That is where doubt can really come in.
V. Fifth, Advent is a time of silence. In the story, the angel responds to Zacharias’ unbelief by saying that he would not be able to speak until everything has been fulfilled. Traditionally this is seen as a punishment on Zacharias for his unbelief, but let me give this story a different spin. Perhaps it was a blessing. I have been at retreats where there were long periods of silence. In fact I was at a one day Baptist retreat last month at Gove Hill in Vermont when we went for periods of hours in silence. One minister complained about it afterwards saying that she had come to talk with friends, not to be quiet. I was once at a retreat in Washington DC when no one said a word for three days. There are monastic orders committed to silence. I have found that silence can be a real gift. God is revealed in silence. I hear God in silence in a deeper way than in words or even music. God speaks in silence.
Zacharias went nine months without speaking. It was a time for him to reconnect with God. It seems to me that the doubt that he expressed with his mouth was simply the verbal expression of the deep doubt in his soul. The imposed silence allowed him to explore that doubt and rediscover his faith, which had become lost over the years. Perhaps this Advent is a time for you to rediscover your faith. Maybe your faith has become weak or is close to being lost. Maybe you need to take time for silent prayer and meditation so you can hear the voice of God. The loudest noise is not the outer noise; it is the inner noise. It is that endless chatter of our minds, the internal conversation that we carry on with ourselves, the babble that keeps us from falling asleep at night, that churns up worry and anxiety in our heart. Real silence is when that inner voice is calmed. Then we can hear the voice of God. It took Zacharias nine months for silence to work deep into his heart and work through his doubts and lead him to a place of faith.
Advent is a gift. It is a time to prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas. Do not waste the gift of Advent.
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