What's muting your lips?

This is the dark political climate where old Zechariah lived. Here is what the Gospel of Luke tells us:  “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of priests named after Abijah. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron.  Zechariah and Elizabeth had God’s approval. They followed all the Lord’s commands and regulations perfectly.  Yet, they never had any children because Elizabeth couldn’t become pregnant. Both of them were too old to have children.  Zechariah was on duty with his division of priests. As he served in God’s presence, he was chosen by priestly custom to go into the Lord’s temple to burn incense.” (Luke 1:5-9) We learn that Zechariah and his wife were good people and that Zechariah liked his job -he was old and still working.  Or more likely it was that priests never really retired.

Zachariah was faithful to this “worship schedule”. He showed up when he had to. He reminds me of the seniors I met at St. Ann's  United Church here in Quesnel. They have several worship teams that are scheduled weekly to lead the liturgy every week. Thank God for the contemporary Zechariahs and Elizabeths who faithfully show up every week to make nurturing worship happen. Zechariah was from the Abijah team. That was the 8th of the 24 teams there were.  How awesome! Zacharias' worship team was scheduled for the right time. Thank God to those who write schedules and for those who follow them!  Despite the monotony that sometimes ‘schedules’ represent, you never know when you are scheduled for the surprise of your life, which you’ll enjoy because you showed up at your scheduled time.

Let’s continue reading Luke: “All the people were praying outside while [Zechariah] was burning incense.  Then, to the right of the incense altar, an angel of the Lord appeared to him.  Zechariah was troubled and overcome with fear (Luke 1:10 -12). Yep, as I said he freaked right out. Who could blame him? Angels are part of a higher pitch of existence and have always elicited fear in humans, as we read in many Biblical stories. We learn that Zechariah had a strong heart (or a good pacemaker, wink wink). He did not have a heart attack and was able to chat with an angel.

The story continues: “The angel said to [Zechariah], “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you will name him John. 14 He will be your pride and joy, and many people will be glad that he was born. 15 As far as the Lord is concerned, he will be a great man. He will never drink wine or any other liquor. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring many people in Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 He will go ahead of the Lord with the spirit and power that Elijah had. He will change parents’ attitudes toward their children. He will change disobedient people so that they will accept the wisdom of those who have God’s approval. In this way he will prepare the people for their Lord.” (Luke 1:13-17). “God has heard your prayer” said the angel to Zechariah. Those are such encouraging words. I too have heard them in my prayers for my 1st and now for a 2nd child. They satisfied and quiet down my spirit. I wonder what Zechariah’s exact prayers were like. As a priest he prayed for the deliverance of Israel, for the accomplishment of God’s promises to Israel, among other prayers. I wonder if when Elizabeth and him were still trying for a baby he prayed that his lineage would be involved in the redemption of Israel.   

As an experienced and seasoned priest, Zechariah knew the Torah and the prophets very well. He heard about many barren wives having miracle babies like: Isaac, Samuel, and Samson, to name some.  Yet, despite him and Elziabeth doing all the right things (being righteous as we read), their baby never came. As having struggled with infertility myself, I wonder if his heart became weary and cynical, and that’s why he answered the angel the way he did: Zechariah said to the angel, “What proof is there for this? I’m an old man, and my wife is beyond her childbearing years.” He told the angel the facts. I’ve done that myself. My husband and I did received our miracle child, for whom we are eternally grateful. But I would like a 2nd one,  which can’t happen now because I am older.  I too have heard many messengers (Christian human friends) who remind me of Sarah’s story and of all the other miracle babies. Like Zechariah I too remind them of the facts: "I know that God can help older women like me to get pregnant again, but it doesn't seem that a 2nd child will happen that way for me. My body doesn’t have what is needed to produce a 2nd child. I too, like Zechariah, would need a very clear sign to believe.”

Long times of waiting and longing for God’s action can grow cynicism within us. J.R. Briggs writes: “Cynicism kills joy, erodes hope, and robs us of the privilege of giving others the benefit of the doubt. To be cynical is to choose to be distant… It is not one of the fruits of the Spirit.” Choosing distance over pain is human. And to this human side of Zechariah the angel answered, “I’m Gabriel! I stand in God’s presence. God sent me to tell you this good news.  But because you didn’t believe what I said, you will be unable to talk until the day this happens. Everything will come true at the right time.” (Luke 5: 19-20).

Why did Zechariah’s discipline involve his speech and not something else? Unlike Mary after her baby annunciation (Luke 5:26-38), Zechariah did not respond with a song of praise. Could it be because his heart had become hard? Like a stone?  And stones can’t sing?  Was his mute state just a visible expression of the hardness of his heart? I would not blame him.

While all this was happening to Zechariah, we read that the prayer meeting outside was going on for way too long. The people were becoming impatient and started to wonder. We read: “Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were amazed that he was staying in the temple so long.  When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. So they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He motioned to them but remained unable to talk.  When the days of his service were over, he went home.” (Luke 5: 21-23) Zechariah’s faithfulness to the schedule is fascinating! He had become mute, yet he finished his shift (He did not call in sick). Lots to think about and nothing he could say. Probably his job was the perfect place to silently process what had just happened to him.

We continue reading: “Later, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and didn’t go out in public for five months. She said, “The Lord has done this for me now. He has removed my public disgrace…. When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son.  Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy. When the child was eight days old, they went ⌞to the temple⌟ to circumcise him. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father.  But his mother spoke up, “Absolutely not! His name will be John.”   Their friends said to her, “But you don’t have any relatives with that name.”  So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name the child.  Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed.  Suddenly, Zechariah was able to speak, and he began to praise God.  (Luke 5:24-25, 57 - 64). 

We understood that “nope, the baby’s name won’t be Zechariah Junior but John.” Interesting! Zechariah gets the biggest gift of his life but he can’t name him as he wanted. And we later read that his son didn’t become a priest as expected either, and that he became a "voice crying in the desert" (John 1:23). "A voice"? Did he become the voice that his father (and the entire priesthood system of his time) had lost?  Often  God’s plans for our kids are bigger than ours and they start early with the name. John became a big deal in God's eyes. He went a head of God's incarnate Word. John spoke the Torah and lived it in a way that the priests of his time did not.  A new priesthood system was being started!

Finally, we read that Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. His mouth was opened, and this is what he had to say after 9 or 10 months of silence: 

 68 “Praise the Lord God of Israel!
He has come to take care of his people
and to set them free.
69 He has raised up a mighty Savior for us
in the family of his servant David.
70 He made this promise through his holy prophets long ago.
71 He promised to save us from our enemies
and from the power of all who hate us.
72 He has shown his mercy to our ancestors
and remembered his holy promise,[b]
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.
74 He promised to rescue us from our enemies’ power
so that we could serve him without fear
75 by being holy and honorable as long as we live.

76 “You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.
You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.
77 You will make his people know that they can be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 A new day will dawn on us from above
because our God is loving and merciful.
79 He will give light to those who live in the dark
and in death’s shadow.
He will guide us into the way of peace.”  (Luke 5: 68-79)

What a light of Peace was born to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s dark times of longing and waiting, under the rule of a scary tyrant.

May we be like the teen Mary, who maybe didn’t know as much as the old Zechariah did, but she trusted the messenger and sung.

May we be like Zechariah, who despite a long wait he was faithful to his worship schedule and showed up to hear the greatest news of his life.

May our hearts become soft this Christmas; soft enough to become hearts of flesh that can sing: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38)

And don’t worry if you feel that your heart is heavy and hard as a rock, Jesus said:  “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting” (Luke 19:40).

May the Holy Spirit come upon us, and enable us to to sing and to prophesy.