Advent is that time of waiting but a dawn is a-coming. Do you recall that first light when the sun is still below the horizon but the sky is ablaze? There is a promise of greater things but we have to wait. Faith is very much waiting in the present for the future. That’s why it can be so difficult for people to grasp the message of Christ. In Advent we have that opportunity to explain the waiting in the metaphor of the dawn is experienced at Christmas in the form of presents. I used light sabres last year and they were all the rage.
Zechariah
In our reading from Luke 1:68-79 we read of Zechariah. He is the first man named in the Gospel of Luke. He is a High Priest, and his wife Elizabeth was a daughter of a priest. It seems to run in the family. They have no children and have led a righteous life. There is no connection between children and living a godly life. Zechariah has chosen to enter the inner sanctum, the Holy of Holies. Not many venture to this place where they’ll find a menorah, that 7 candle arc, a table for the bread which is to be given to God and a tub for burning incense.
As Zechariah is doing his duties, he is joined by someone, an Angel. I am not sure whether Zechariah jumps out of his skin at the sight of the Angel or when the Angel first speaks – he’ll definitely keep an eye out from now on. The Angel tells him that Elizabeth will have a child, his name will be John and they’ll be great rejoicing, John will make ready the people for the Lord. Not sure how much of that Zechariah really took in…have a child? They’ll be amazement not just rejoicing! But before his first utterance to the Angel is possible, he’s told that he will remain speechless until the birth.
Conveying Hope without speech
Perhaps there is a sign here that speech may not be the only way of explaining to others our faith.
Zechariah uses a tablet to explain all that has happened – just like today, he uses the tools of the modern day to communicate the message of hope. Here’s a wooden tablet, can’t see through it. so it can’t be windows…
But what hope?
This is the baby John, not Jesus. Let’s take a step back here: the state of Judah is still most definitely ruled by Rome. Yes the Jews can still worship but under the jurisdiction of the Government. But John lies in the line of Abraham, there is tradition here, that God’s plan of salvation is at work. How can God bring salvation from our enemies when Rome are in control? Well, they won’t be delivered from Rome but from Rome’s power.
That power is subverted by the resurrection of Christ, all part of God’s plan. They need to keep waiting but a dawn is a-coming. The Angel’s message may have silenced Zechariah, but the dawn is still a-coming.
What about this child John? I suspect that every parent, god-parent, relative can speak lyrically of the great things that a child may undertake over their future lifetime. Here, we read that John will ‘tell his people how to be saved through forgiveness’. Doesn’t this apply to us as well?
Zechariah so loved his son that he could glimpse him through God’s eyes. God has given us something which makes us all unique. We have a purpose, to prepare the way of the Lord wherever we live. What is this salvation seen today? It is the changing of the fear of power over us, from deep seated division from our childhood, from media pressure of communities separated by colour, by gender, from whomever we may describe as our enemies. As Psalm 23 reads “To give light to those in the shadow of death, to guide us on the path of peace.”
That light is the dawn that is a-coming.
What’s the context for this passage?
We are looking at Luke 3:1-6. It was written around 80 AD but the author wants us to read that it is around 30 AD, in the fifteenth year of the reign of the Emperor.
The ruler of the Empire is Tiberius , the Emperor at Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. We have Herod ruling over Judea. The author is talking on a tour of the regions but starts at the epicentre, that is Rome and starts to spin around until we get the one whom God has chosen.
So given the magnitude of the problem – mankind – wouldn’t it be good to choose someone with influence over a huge swathe of society? So the Emperor, no. He was considered a god anyway. What of Pilate or Herod then, if they could suddenly change his mind and follow Christ that would be ground breaking, sorry no. Too much to lose if they decided to change tack now. What of Philip and Lysanius? Well similar situation, changing allegiance now would mean that they would be cutting off all links to their power, that’s not a forward step at all, is it… Hey, what of Annas and Caiaphas, the priests? They could tell a lot of people. No. The person God chose was John, the one born of the followers of God, but someone who was on the margins, an also-ran, an unlikely candidate and one in the most unlikely of places.
Don’t worry Jesus will return to confront Annas and Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate at a later stage.
So what does this message say to us individually today?
If Advent is a time of waiting, we aren’t waiting for the end of our life. We are awaiting for that spark that heralds our perception of Heaven here on Earth. It’s waiting for a ’change in our whole way of thinking’ that transformation through Christ.
What does this mean to us?
This transformation of our thinking leads to a change in our actions. It isn’t merely letting go and letting God pick up all the reins. It isn’t being passive, nor is it ok to say we are old in years, let the youngsters do it all – Zechariah and Elizabeth were no spring chickens.
This is a time of intentionally being with God, hearing what and where God is leading us. Our prayer isn’t sitting back but it is a revolutionary act, a daring manoeuvre where we look forward to the here and now, for us to be where God wants us to be.
Paraphrase of Brueggemann
This time of waiting during Advent is preparing us not just for Christmas but one where we seek to be ready now and the time to come. It’s an annual ‘girding your loins’ so that we can see the light of the dawn is a-coming. Are your loins girded?
Prepare the way of the Lord, is a not a call to sitting back but a defiant call to action. That all shall see the salvation of God today. That salvation is freeing of the burdens of today, releasing of the captivity of loneliness, making the bonds of fellowship, bringing hope to those who don’t see God in all things and in all people. May we see the Christ in all as we seek to glimpse the kin_dom of Heaven here on Earth today.
The dialogue was very interesting