Luke 1:5-22
Responding to God

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. Now it happened, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name 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, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord."

Zacharias said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."

The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.

World English Bible

Luke begins the story of the nativity with Zacharias, the husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist. Luke made an important parallel in this story with chapter 3 as he began the story of Jesus ministry with John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, fulfilling Isaiah's prophesy to prepare the way of the Lord. We know God was preparing for the coming of Jesus long before Zacharias, as we see in the writings of the prophets, and before that, in the Psalms and even in the books of the Law. In truth, God was preparing for our salvation before the world began—just as God is already preparing everything we will need before we recognize that we need it.

Before the angels announced the Savior's birth to the shepherds, and before the angels visited Mary and then Joseph telling the good news of the baby to be born, the angel Gabriel announced John's birth to his father. The timing of this announcement was an extraordinary day for Zacharias. Only once each year was one of the priests allowed to go into the innermost chamber of the Temple and represent the people, so to be chosen out of all the priests for this service was literally a "once in a lifetime" privilege. The way of selecting the priest, by "lot", was felt to be God's own hand choosing the one to serve. On a day like that, one could assume that Zacharias felt particularly close to God and sensitive to God's presence.

While Zacharias was in the midst of these sacred ceremonies, Gabriel appeared in the inner sanctuary. Zacharias' first response was the usual one, fear. Gabriel calmed him and told him that his prayer for a son was being answered, and that this son will be special in God's plan.

Zacharias' attitude, though, quickly shifted from fear to cynicism. He challenged the angel to prove that what he said was true! Wouldn't Gabriel's appearance in the inner sanctuary have been proof enough? Wouldn't the fact that Gabriel knew the content of his prayers been evidence that God sent the angel? What was Zacharias thinking?

We might imagine his spirit had become calloused after having been so frequently disappointed that God hadn't acquiesced to his prayers. In contrast, the gospels presents us with the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane, "Not my will, but Your will be done, Father."

We might imagine that Zacharias had become so comfortable in his misery that the message from Gabriel felt more like a threat than good news. Maybe he didn't expect much from himself, since the lack of offspring "showed" that God didn't expect much of him. With this announcement, God was forcing Zacharias out of old routines, habits, and ways of thinking. In contrast, the Old Testament gives us the response of Isaiah, saying "Here I am, Lord, send me."

We might imagine that Zacharias was still fearful. The words of Gabriel weren't enough to assure him, nor was the infectious excitement and the blessings from a messenger from the throne room of God. Maybe he couldn't let go of trusting only himself, even with Gabriel there for encouragement. We only have to turn a few pages later in Luke to see the contrast in the words of Mary, "May it be to me as You have said."

The theme of Advent is to remind us to wait for God, actively listening and believing that God will answer at the right time. How will we open ourselves to God this advent season? Can we accept God's will as being what is best for us, and put aside our own will? Can we open ourselves to God's leading, even when it makes us uncomfortable, breaks our old habits, and challenges us to think in new ways? Can we trust in God's infinite power and love?