Luke 1:8 -18
8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 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. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 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. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 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.’ 18 Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife [barren] is getting on in years.’
Have you ever experienced the pain of working really hard on a project, putting in hours of work, making sure everything was done just right to have it fail?
Reading today’s passage I can’t help but wonder how Elizabeth felt about being barren. Luke writes that both Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were righteous. They were living blameless, following the commandments of God. In other words, they were making sure to live in a way that honoured God in everything they did and said. But something was missing in their lives, the blessing of a child. As the years passed, it seems that their righteous living did not diminish, they continued to follow the commandments of God.
How do we stay faithful when our prayers seem to go unanswered year after year? How do we hold onto God, when He seems to be “holding out” on our heart’s desperate plea?
Then one ordinary day, just like any other, it falls to Zechariah to go and offer incense to God. This is where an unexpected visit from an angel brings a promise that would have been far beyond anything Zechariah expected. The righteous couple who are barren will conceive; they will have a son. And this son has an incredible path before him, including you may notice to bring the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous. Zechariah finishes by saying, in a nutshell – but we are old and barren…
This story encourages me to remember that even though it may look like my circumstances haven’t changed – there is always a promise to hold onto. And that promise may not change my immediate circumstances, but I can still choose to do the right thing, believe, trust and follow God.
Pastor Rose Andrykanus