December 10th, 2023
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.
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
Reflection
This is a conclusion of the story of the birth of John the Baptist. John’s parents were old, like Abraham and Sarah, beyond childbirth years. When the angel approaches Zachariah, John’s father, in the temple, Zachariah wants to know how he can trust what the angel is saying. Instead of working a miracle, God places a punishment, the inability to speak, as a sign promised to Zachariah and Elizabeth is to be trusted. I try to imagine how Zachariah would explain his sudden inability to speak to people, instead using only hand gestures and facial expressions of excitement and fear to communicate that God has promised his son would be the forerunner of the Messiah.
Think about what the arrival of the Messiah meant. It meant that God had not forgotten them. In a world that was groaning for deliverance, like a midwife, God is there to help with the birth pains.
Right now, there is so much to be worried about. From senseless acts of gun violence, wars, economic worries, poverty, and political divisions. There is an adage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Zachariah’s song, which we often pray at Evening Prayer, is both a spiritual and political revolution. But it is also a reminder that God is always with us. Amid the despair, we can see hope. It does not deny the reality of suffering, but it reminds us that suffering is not all there is.
Where do you need God to be a midwife in your life? What is happening in your life that you need to remember God always keeps His promises?
Father Everett Lees
Vicar, Christ Church—Tulsa