Zechariah
Anything Can Happen If You Let It - Mary Poppins
Luke 1: 1-25, 57-80
Let’s start the study with two of the pivotal but lesser known characters of the Christmas story, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They are the first of many Christmas miracles. There is a lot of background here so hang with me. Zechariah and Elizabeth were advanced in years and although they tried to have children their entire marriage, they were childless. This was at a time when childless couples were thought to have lost favor with God, or he would have blessed them with a child. Zechariah was a priest and therefore would travel to the temple twice a year for a week to take care of it.
During that week, one of the priests would be chosen by God through the casting of lots to enter the Holy Place where they would burn incense and pray on the behalf of the entire nation of Israel. This privilege only came once in a lifetime if at all. Zechariah had never been selected but he never let that get him down or stop him. Because he knew God had the power to move mountains and can make anything happen.
This year, when the lots were cast - Zechariah was selected. The priest who many believed did not have favor with God - yes he was chosen by God. This was the greatest honor in Zechariah’s life. He wanted to do everything perfectly. As he prepared the incense - an angel of the Lord appeared and told him the greatest news he had ever heard - Elizabeth would give birth to a son. And they are to name him John. At this point Zechariah was skeptical and questioned the angel. Let’s be honest - I get that. I’d be a little taken aback to say the least. When he asked how he would know if this was true, the angel Gabriel said you will not speak again until this has taken place.
When the week was over, he returned home to Elizabeth. Since he could not speak and most people could not read, he had to find a way to tell Elizabeth what happened. They had waited their entire married life to conceive a child. He knew it would happen but has to find a way to explain to Elizabeth everything that happened without talking. This gives a whole new meaning to improv. Not to mention since he couldn’t talk, he could no longer perform his regular duties to counsel, pray, advise, etc. So the biggest thing in Elizabeth’s and his life is about to happen which means all the joy of planning, nervousness, excitement, etc. without being able to speak to your wife. And oh yeah, your regular duties and normal schedule - you can no longer do. Is this a blessing or a curse? I guess it depends on which way you look at it. We can never know what he thought but we know what happened later.
At the circumcision ceremony, when his voice returned, he began praising God with what is called Zechariah’s Song or the Beneditcus and it is one of the most beautiful passages of scripture. So although my guess is that Zechariah would get frustrated about his loss of speech, and maybe even angry, it allowed Zechariah to spend time with God and with Elizabeth that he would not normally have been able to do. Given that the first words he spoke were praising God - we can assume he saw it more of a blessing than a curse. He trusted God and in God’s plan.
I will never say that the past few months have been a blessing. It has been one of the hardest times in all our lives. We have all been through difficult things, but not like this.
What if we look at it differently. What if we take the attitude that “anything can happen if you let it.”
Zechariah means “the Lord has remembered.” That is very fitting as the Lord never forgot Zechariah. Just as he has never forgotten any of us. And He can make anything happen. He will help us through this crazy time. And maybe do some amazing things along the way. Remember-
If you reach for the stars all you get are the stars
But we've found a whole new spin
If you reach for the heavens
You get the stars thrown in
Zechariah let God happen. He let God’s plan happen. Let’s take that attitude and see what God can do if we let him. Especially during this crazy time.
Reflection Notes:
Is there a blessing that has come out of this pandemic. If so, what is it? If not, pray for God to use you to be one for someone else.
Is there a time that you have felt forgotten by God. Write that down and remember that we are never forgotten.
During this week, try to look at things with a different perspective and see how God opens your eyes.
