St Luke 1: 5 – 24
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.’
Reflection
When we read the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth we are reading the story of two people whose lives did not turn out the way they expected. Upright people who have lived with disappointment, not through any fault of theirs. Is it any wonder then that Zechariah takes some convincing? He wants some evidence. Despite the angel telling him ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard’ he is doubtful. He stops just short of yelling ‘fake news’ at the angel, in his struggle to believe God is working on it.
It is seriously hard when it feels like our prayers are falling into silence. Those dark moments when we wonder if God is even listening. When we perhaps feel forgotten. This passage holds a reminder that God hears prayer. Zechariah’s years of waiting did not mean God had ignored him.
For Zechariah the answer simply came in God’s timing, which was far better and more miraculous than Zechariah could have imagined – he just had to be willing to hear God in return. Prayer is always a dialogue with God. We both speak and listen. God hears us, but we need to be open to hearing God’s voice in return, to being changed, to being called away from the easy answer we seek towards the work of justice and Kin(g)dom.
Prayer
Thank you God for hearing our prayers, spoken and unspoken, formed and formless.
Help us to listen to you speaking in the world around us. Silence us when necessary, and teach us to shout for justice when required.
Amen