December 5th, 2021
Luke 1: 57-68
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
We Live or Die by the Clock
The movie, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks who serves as a troubleshooter for FedEx, stresses the importance of accomplishment and speed. He tells employees, “We live or die by the clock.” So dedicated is he to this mantra, that he isn’t able to celebrate Christmas with his girlfriend (played by Helen Hunt) trading presents in the car as he is whisked away to fix another problem. Tragedy strikes and he is the only survivor of a plane crash that leaves him stranded on a deserted island for four years with only Wilson, a volleyball, as his companion. Half of the movie, 80 minutes, is essentially a silent movie. Suddenly the clock becomes meaningless.
Deserted Island is a game where you imagine if you only had one restaurant, one food, one book on a deserted island what would you want it to be. I wonder after you had read “Lonesome Dove” for the umpteenth time what would you think about on a deserted island?
Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, was unable to speak for the 9 months that John was in his mother’s womb. In those moments of silence, unable to speak, what did Zechariah think about? We got some clue in the Song of Zechariah—his response after the power of speech is returned to him.
Zechariah did not believe God when he was told his wife, in her old age, would bear a child. The silence was a discipline placed on him so he could reflect on and learn to trust in God. When John was born, people assumed he would be named for his father, but instead Elizabeth names him John. The people worried she has made a mistake go and ask Zechariah what the child’s name is and he writes “John”, the name that was given to them by God. In those nine months of silence, Zechariah had learned to trust in God and be obedient to God.
One of the toughest parts of this past year, for me, is the realization of how little control I have on much of my life. As I reflect back on the times, I see how I was angry at how people were, or more generally were not, reacting to the virus. I needed the illusion of control, progress, certainty, and the past 18 months have taught me that most of those are mirages.
Dr. Kara Slade reflects on the modern Christian tendency to think the world is ours to save and fix when, in reality, humans are more often the problem, not the solution. She writes, “And Jesus Christ must be at the heart of our conviction that the kingdom of God is his to bring in, and not ours. The world is not ours to save. The church is not ours to preserve. God does that in a continuous and sovereign act of Providence. God is the acting subject of our theological grammar, not us.”
This is at the heart of our conviction of Jesus, that we need something outside ourselves to save us. As they say in AA, “My best decisions led me here.” Zechariah in those nine months of silence realized it is God who saves and delivers.
Maybe we all need some silence.
The Rev. Everett C. Lees, DMin
Vicar, Christ Church, Tulsa
Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma