Elizabeth and Zechariah

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ‘This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.’

- Luke 1:1-25

In the daily Lectionary cycle, at this point in the gospel of Matthew (see yesterday's reading), we turn to readings preparing us for the celebration of Jesus' birth. I quite like having had the opportunity to go through the gospels in sequential order; that is, chapter by chapter, because it offered me a context through which to blog reflections day by day, and I hope gave my readers a kind of continuity. So much of what is written really flows as a story or a narrative, and builds upon the teachings we've been given previously in the same book. But today, we begin with chapter 1 of Luke.

Luke notes in his first sentence the fact that he has researched the events of the narratives provided by eyewitnesses, so that he may set down an "orderly account of the events." The disciples themselves were eyewitnesses to Jesus' ministry - his teaching and his miracles and the events of his life. But Luke was not one of the original disciples, so his account is a compilation of the testimony of those witnesses. We recall that Luke is our "Beloved Physician." He was a gentile from Antioch and worked with Paul. He is also the author of Acts of the Apostles.

As is fitting to a physician, Luke is thorough. His gospel is the only one to provide information about the birth and infancy of John the Baptist. So, we begin at the beginning, with the parents of John the Baptist, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They are a righteous couple living a righteous life - following the commandments and regulations. They are also a family of priestly lineage; we recall the tradition of emphasis on lineage. And, as befitting the repetition of a sort of lineage, Elizabeth - as were so many of her female predecessors, important figures in the Old Testament - is barren. This was a public reproach, a source of shame. At this point in the start of our gospel narrative, both Elizabeth and Zechariah are aged.

Zechariah is a priest. Each priest was assigned to a division - there were 24 divisions in all. Each would serve a week at a time by rotation. The responsibilities of the priests were decided by lot. Zechariah is to offer incense in the temple.

"Now at the time of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him." We live in an age of media saturation: from movies to television to the Internet and all forms of media we are treated to every fantasy all day long. But I quite think that to truly have such a vision of an angel would still, nevertheless, be a startling thing. Zechariah is terrified and full of fear. So the events of the narrative of the birth of Christ are set into motion by the appearance of an angel, and the recipient of this visitation, a priest, who is full of fear and terrified.

But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." This is quite a tremendous pronouncement. In the same chapter of Malachi quoted in yesterday's commentary, regarding the Sun of Righteousness, is also the prophecy of the return of Elijah. The words of that prediction about Elijah are strikingly similar to the those of the angel to Zechariah: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’ Zechariah's fears get the better of him. He is full of doubts and worries in the presence of this angel, who is Gabriel. Gabriel is known as the messenger to mankind, proclaiming good news. But Zechariah has failed to receive this good news. I find it interesting, having recently blogged through the chapters of Matthew, to view this passage in light of Jesus' teachings about how we are to live our lives in preparation for his return. In the parable of the talents (Friday's reading), we noted the difference - in contrasting responses of fear and trust - between those who used their talents wisely and those who failed to do so. Zechariah here responds with fear rather than trust in Gabriel's words, and as a result Zechariah himself becomes mute, and no words will come from him until these events begin to unfold. A great illustration indeed about our talents and their use in cooperation with grace!

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ‘This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.’ The words of Gabriel are true; the community understands that Zechariah has seen a vision. He fulfills his duties in the temple despite his disability of muteness, and returns home. After Elizabeth conceives, she understands it is via the grace of God. We remember her words, "This is what the Lord has done for me."

The story of Jesus' coming into the world as a human being is filled with prophecy and fulfillment. But even so, these wondrous events don't happen in perhaps the way we'd imagine the fulfillment of a prophecy of the Lord will happen. They happen with difficulty! Nothing, as our lives in the world should teach us, is "perfect" as in a movie or television or some other fantasy of fiction. Elizabeth and Zechariah have been faithful to God, and yet remained childless, with Elizabeth bearing great public disgrace. Zechariah is a priest and a descendant of a priestly family as is his wife, and yet this great vision in the temple of Gabriel is greeted with terror and fear, and results in his being rendered mute for his unbelief. Nothing is "perfect." This is not a fairy tale! It's a human story - of grace and the Divine manifesting Its presence in our world, to us and through us. We will see how this marvelous, awesome story (in the true sense of those root words of "marvel" and "awe") evolves as we head toward our celebration of Christmas. Do you want your life to be perfect, and wonder why it is not? Take heed to the words in our readings, and consider how even the Lord's plan looks to our eyes far from what we'd describe - in our limitation as human beings - as "perfect." And yet, it is the perfect story as it unfolds for us and has continued to inspire and unfold for 2,000 years.