Luke 1:21-25

     When Zechariah came out of the temple unable to speak, the people knew he'd seen a vision.  He remained in Jerusalem to complete his time of service as a priest, then returned home. 
     What would it be like to be in silence?  He couldn't tell others of his vision.  They didn't have American Sign Language back then.  Parchment was too precious to use it to write down his story.  His silence must have forced Zechariah into concerted thought. 
     In a world of television, radio, computers, planes, phones, autos and the buzz of countless machines and electronics, silence is a rare commodity.  How can we learn from Zehcariah's lesson?

     More in the new year!

Luke 1:10-20

     Zechariah's big moment comes.  He's been chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer the incense.  Outside, everyone is praying.  What a spiritual experience!  To enter this place alone, to feel in community with God.  Then he sees an angel.  Today, in more skeptical times, some people in his shoes might ask, "just what is in that incense?"  But Zechariah is a man of faith; he knows it is an angel, but that doesn't stop him from being terrified.  After all, ordinary human goodness can't stand up to sheer holiness.  Did he wonder about his sins?  Did he think his human failings had now caught up with him?  Or was he too scared to think about anything? 
     The angel told him not to be afraid (probably didn't make Zechariah unafraid, but the angel tried).  What Zechariah hears is not bad news, not a judgement on his faults or failings.  Instead, the longing prayer of his heart would be answered.  He and Elizabeth would have a son and he ws to name that son, John.  John was to live a holy life and would fulfill a holy purpose to turn many people back to God. 
     But Zechariah must have doubted.  He was in good company.  When Abraham and Sarah heard they were to have a child at an advanced aged, Sarah laughed until the tent shook and Abraham fell on his face with laughter--or joy, or a little of both.  And God told them to name their son Isaac, which means mirth.  Gabriel may have been a little less patient, or perhaps there were other reasons, but because Zechariah had doubted, he was told that he would be mute until the day the promise was fulfilled.
     Have you ever heard good news when you may have expected bad?
     How did you respond?
     Do you think silence might have been helpful to Zechariah as he considered all the things the angel had told him?
    

Luke 1:5-9

     This is the story of Zechariah.  He was a good man.  He and his wife, Elizabeth had tried hard to live according the the commandments of God.  Their one sorrow was the factthat they had no children.  Elizabath may have been barren.  It was usually the wife who was considered infertile, although they had no way of knowing who was unable to mother/father a child. At the time this story begins, both husband and wife were older and had probably given up hope of a family. 
     Zechariah was a priest.  The priests served a month of the year.  Individual priests were chosen by lot (similar to the idea of throwing dice or cutting cards) to be the ones who would offer the incense in the sanctuary.  Unlike today when most people refer to the entire worship area as the sanctuary, the sanctuary in the temple was a secluded space where few people entered. 
     It must have been fulfilling for Zechariah to be chosen to enter the sanctuary.  God was generally considered to have something to do with the lot falling upon a man, so it was a sign that Zechariah had found approval.  Yet not having a child was often considered a mark of disfavor by God.  So he may also have been confused.  He knew his wife to be a good woman.  Here he was favored by lot to offer incense to the Lord, yet why didn't they have a child?
     Such questions are like the hardest questions people ask about faith and God.  Why do people suffer?  Especially, why do good people suffer?  Why do innocents like children suffer? 
     What do you think Zechariah was feeling as he entered the sanctuary?
      How do you ask those questions of God?

On-Line Bible Study Returns Next Week

The On-Line Bible Study will return next week.