It happened in the stillness
The years of patient waiting
Of unfulfilled hopes and dreams
A loss so sad and anguishing.
But they kept their fervent focus
Observing His decrees
They continued to be childless
And unable to conceive.
Then one important morning
When he fulfilled the priestly duties
Zechariah became startled
In the holiest of holies.
Gabriel appeared to him
An angel of the Lord
He brought such astonishing news
The priest was utterly floored.
His disbelief began to surface
He demanded some kind of proof
A certainty that guaranteed
That this was no cruel spoof.
But instead of getting a guarantee
He lost his priestly voice
For nine long months of silence,
A priest’s uninvited choice.
Was it punishment for Zechariah
For arrogance and doubt
Or was it a severe mercy
For the deeper work about…
How certainty begets a pridefulness
That leaves no room for mystery
Of how God puts together
His plan and our life’s tapestry.
The stigma for a woman in that day
Was painful and defeating
Barrenness was such disgrace
A cultural brow-beating.
Elizabeth showed blessed emptiness
Of a surrendered obedient life
In holding her present place as a gift
Not as a mother but only a wife.
You can imagine the great ecstasy
Of sharing in the joy
With Mary who also was with child
Another baby Boy.
Her son the Baptist leapt in the womb
He also had a clue
That His Savior was present
Coming to make things new.
It’s His story we join and
Not the other way around
He invites us with love and wonder
To take part in the only sound…
Of the angel sent from God
Assurance of joy and delight
That the Child who comes
Will be the long-expected Light.
AMEN.
“Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well in years.'” Luke 1:18
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you bear!'” Luke 1:41-42, NIV
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