What's in a Question?

So I've been pondering yesterday's blog, or rather the stories of Luke, chapter 1.  More specifically, I've been curious about Gabriel's different responses to Zechariah & Mary.  Why did Gabriel take the voice of Zech when he treated Mary with compassion and further details?  What made one of them 'punishable', and the other not?

So I pulled out my Study Bible and a commentary, pulled up biblegateway.com and went to it.  Amazing what discoveries can be made.

One of the first things that I was struck by is the timing of Gabriel's appearance to Zechariah.  This was not just an ordinary thing that Zech was doing on this day.  As a priest, Zechariah served at the temple for two one-week periods a year.  He was a member of one of twenty-four divisions in the priesthood of the first century, one of approximately 18,000 priests.  A priest only got to assist in the daily offering by going into the holy place ONCE IN HIS LIFE!   And he got that honor by being chosen by lot- meaning, they 'drew straws' sort of.  So it is that kind of moment that you train for all your life, but it only lasts for a little while.  And as is often the case, you don't know actually when it will happen.

His job was to offer incense which is a picture of intercession rising to God.   At the moment he places the incense on the alter, Gabriel appears.  How appropriate to pick a moment of worship and a time when people recognized their need for cleansing  from sin to announce this child, who would grow up to be the 'announcer' of the ONE who would take sin away from the world.

Gabriel tells Zechariah quite a bit about his son. 

 

The first thing was his name- John. Can you imagine being named by God? That must mean something special.

He will be a source of joy and delight for Zechariahand Elizabeth.  He will be great before God.  He will live a very strict, disciplined life.  I suppose that meant that Zechariah would need to pay close attention to that in raising his son also.   More importantly, the child will be 'empowered by the Spirit even from birth'.  Hmmm!  Too many times today parents refer to their kids as 'little devils'. What would it be like to have a child empowered by the Spirit from the time they were born?

Gabriel says that the child will be a prophet.  That he will call people to repent.  

    "He will turn Israel back to the Lord" 

    "He will turn the hearts of parent to their children"

John will be part of redirecting those who listen to his message to walk with God. He's making people ready for the Lord.

That' when we come to the question.  After being told all of this, even though he was a priest experiencing the ONCE IN A LIFETIME event, he doesn't just accept that a miracle of having a child will occur.  In his humanness, he sees a very natural objection.  He's old!  His wife is old!  He knew how it worked and it wasn't working anymore.

But this was Gabriel talking- not his neighbor down the road.  God sent Gabriel here at this moment, at this place, to give this message.  Zech had to know that given where he was and what he was doing.  Wouldn't the fear that Zech had when he first saw Gabriel keep him of 'second guessing' Gab's words now.

It seems not!  How many times is that true of me too?  Or of you?  Something extraordinary takes place and we receive  a wonderful word that must be from God and what do we do?  We step back and say 'well wait a minute, I'm not sure we can really do that- it's not the way things work.' But it was working that way.  God was speaking through Gabriel directly to him.

Zech needed to learn a lesson I need to learn as well.  God does His things in His time in His way.  If he says He will do it- it's done.  Simple as that!  It may not look like we think it will, or it should but HE WILL DO IT.

So here are my questions for this Advent Season.
What is He saying to you during this Advent Season?  
Are you listening?  
Are you even aware that He is talking to you?  
It may not be through Gabriel, but He is there using something in your life to speak what He wants to do in you.

When Zechariah didn't believe the angels words, he was actually doubting God.  That was why Gabriel responded by taking away Zech's voice.
What's your response?  
Are you believing what God is saying, or are you making excuses for how it won't work.  
Remember, this is God at work!  

Hmmm!  Much to ponder.
So how does this compare to Mary's response?

Well, I think I'll leave that for tomorrow!

See you then!

The light...is about to break!

Luke 1:78-79

Because of God's tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us,

To give light to those who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death

and to guide us to the path of peace.

This verse struck me as I came across it this morning.  I have read Luke 1  before.  It's the story of  Zechariah. a priest in the time of Herod the king of Judea.  He and his wife, Elizabeth, are good people, in fact the Bible says they 'were righteous in God's eyes'. Who wouldn't want God to say that about them?  But they had no kids and now they are both very old.

Then one day, Zechariah is on duty at the Temple and he is chosen to be the one to enter the sanctuary and burn incense while the people prayed outside.

That's where it happened!

An angel of the Lord shows up!

Zechariah is overwhelmed, you can imagine!  But the angel says, "Don't be afraid Zech! God has heard you praying and you will have a son. Name him John! "

The angel tells Zech incredible things about  his son, that he will be a man of spirit and power and accomplish great things.

Zechariah's response is to ask a question, "How can I be sure this will happen?  I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years."

The angel gets ticked!  At least I think he's ticked.  He says, "I am Gabriel!  I stand in the presence of God.  He sent me to tell you this good news.  But since you didn't believe  me- you won't be able to speak until your child is born."

And he didn't! Not a word!

Right after that story is when Gabriel shows up to talk to a young girl named Mary.  Again Gabriel says, "Don't be afraid! "  (I wonder how many times Gabriel has said that in his angel life.)

Gabriel tells Mary "you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son. Name him Jesus!"  Again he tells Mary that her son will be very great and that he will be given the throne and will reign forever.

Mary's response is to ask a question, " But how can this happen. I am a virgin."

But Gabriel doesn't seem to get upset with Mary.  He doesn't take her voice away like he did with Zechariah.  He seems more gentle, more patient.

And he tells her, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age.  People used to say she was barren, but she's now in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God."

It was like I reading this chapter for the first time.  Seeing similarities in the passages I had not seen before.  And yet the differences astound me.

Why did Gabriel react to Zechariah's question as he did and yet not treat Mary that same way when she questioned.  Was it in what they insinuated in the question?  Was it in their tone of voice- which of course we can't hear.  Hmm?  I may have to study that a bit more.

But the other thing I noticed is that, unlike Zechariah,  Mary was able to respond to Gabriel's message right away.  And in amazing faith, she says, "I am the Lord's servant.  May everything you have said about me come true."

I can't say for sure- but I wonder if I had just encountered an angel that's telling me not to be afraid and he tells me that I'm going to be an unmarried pregnant virgin that I would say, "Yeah, I hope it all comes true."

And a few days later, her response swells to an incredibly beautiful song recorded as the  Magnificat. 

Zechariah, in the meantime, is completely silent.  Silence that has been forced on him because he refused to accept the angel's word as coming from God.  Until the day his new baby turned 8 days old.  As these new parents take their son to be circumcised,  everyone is asking what the child's name will be.   Elizabeth states that it will be John. No one believes her because there's no one in the family named John.   So they start 'making gestures' to Zech (not sure why, he was mute, not deaf), anyway, they ask Zechariah what the baby's name should be.  Zechariah writes on a tablet.  HIS NAME IS JOHN.  Immediately he is able to speak again.

That's when Zechariah breaks out into a song of his own.   A song he could sing with great emotion, and deep gratitude for the gift of this child.  A hymn of praise to the Most High God. 

At the end of his song, he sings these words.

Because of God's tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us,

To give light to those who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death

and to guide us to the path of peace. Luke 1:78-79

Ah Lord God, let your light break upon us, give light to those who only see darkness this advent season.  To  all who sit in the shadow of death, guide us to peace!