Reading: Luke 1.57-80
From time to time we hear a hostess say, "Oh, it all just came together!" That can be a bit intimidating, don't you think? It reminds me of that bit in "Mary Poppins" where the room is being tidied and everything goes zip! zip! zip! zip! into their own drawer or cupboard or box.
But those of you who are that kind of hostess know well that it's not quite like that at all. In fact, a great deal of both experience and knowledge has gone into the meal. You haven't panicked because of the increased numbers. Your forethought has meant that the ingredients of a good meal have already been on hand without a last minute rush to the shop. You have looked through your pantry with a bit of lateral thinking. Then with a clear idea of where you are going, you have done the hard work necessary to bring it all together - using other helpers, if they are available. Isn't that how it "all just came together"?
Well - "When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy" (Lk. 1.57-58). They recognised the special goodness of God, because Elizabeth had been barren and was well past childbearing age.
On the eighth day, they all gathered for the boy's circumcision. Zechariah, the father, hadn't spoken at all since the angel had announced to him that his wife was to have a baby - nine months and more ago! But notice the incredible ignorance of these people. They seem to assume that because he was dumb - unable to speak - he was also dumb - unable to make reasonable decisions. Obviously, his name should be Zechariah, after his father.
No, insisted Elizabeth, "He is to be called John". Though unable to speak, Zechariah had, of course, conveyed to his wife the word of the angel, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John" (1.13).
Signalling that he wanted to write something, Zechariah wrote, "His name is John" (v. 63) - not just "that's what he is going to be called", but "that is who he is."
Then, to their amazement, he got his voice back and began to speak and his very first words were praise to God. He hadn't spoken since he had doubted the angel. For nine months he had been doing a great deal of thinking about God and his ways. And now his first words were praise.
The initial reaction of the neighbours was fear. They believed in God all right, but here was a situation in which God seemed to be acting in a special way. That's a bit much! But notice their question in v.66 - "What then is this child going to be?" - for the Lord's hand was with him.
This situation, of course, was in the truest sense extraordinary - even as, in a different way, Mary's conception as a virgin was special and extraordinary. The prophet John would herald the coming of Jesus, Messiah, and Son of God.
Every human couple recognises their own child, the product of their loving, as special and unique. But what do you see in your child? What will your child become?
We had our youngest when our eldest was almost 16. We looked at her with a knowledge of babyhood, toddling, primary school, high school... That perspective gives us a picture of what a child might have to do, but it isn't an insight into the future of what a child will be.
But when parents actively desire and persistently seek "the hand of the Lord" on their child, a whole new and wonderful set of possibilities begins to open up. How we need to pray for, seek and promote the active involvement of our children and grandchildren in the things of the Lord! Then it will have greater significance - "What is this child going to be?" for the hand of the Lord is upon him or her.
And now, released from his dumbness, filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah the father speaks out God's message. "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David" (vv. 68-69). Zechariah understands from the visit of Mary, that the Messiah is to be born soon. What God has promised "through his holy prophets of long ago", he is about to fulfil.
The angel had said, "Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord..." (1.16-17). And now Zechariah is declaring, "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins..."
For this was the special mission of John. The Lord is coming. God the Son is about to appear. Get ready for his coming by repenting of your sins so that you can be forgiven.
"The child grew and became stronger in spirit". How important that was! and how important it is for our own children! - not only to grow physically, developing human capacities to the full, but to develop spiritually, becoming strong in relation to the Lord.
"He lived in the desert until appeared publicly in Israel" (v. 80). Some have speculated that John had contact with the Essene community at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Certainly, that community loved Isaiah and tended to see themselves in the light of Isaiah 40.3, "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord!" That's interesting speculation. However, unlike the Qumran community, John came out of the desert, calling people to repentance.
And for us, the key questions are not simply about our children and our grandchildren.
Are we ready, prepared for the Lord and his work and will in our lives? In spite of (and perhaps, because of) our rush to be ready for Christmas, it is so easy not to be ready for the Christ! Jesus came to bring forgiveness, salvation. Are we ready to receive him into our lives - not just for Christmas, but for all our lives?
Are we open to having the hand of the Lord on our own lives? The changes that are needed in our lives won't happen Mary Poppins style! Consciously, as we begin each day, we can read some of his Word, the Bible, and ask him in prayer to be Lord today in all we say and do. I believe that, as we begin to do that, some extraordinary things will begin to happen - because the hand of the Lord is upon us!
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