Sermon for the Wednesday of Advent IV: December 22, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Poor Zechariah had a long, silent nine months. What had he done wrong? This faithful priest of the Lord did his duty for all of his life, in and out of the temple, preparing sacrifices and offering incense. Then, on one fateful day, the Angel Gabriel decides to show up and declare that his wife Elizabeth will give birth to John the Baptist. The long-awaited Messiah would be here, and the baby boy that he would not see grow into adulthood is nevertheless the One God had designated to prepare the Savior’s way.

It can be too much for one man to take in at one time. The sight alone of the Angel of the Lord produced a troubling fear in Zechariah’s heart. The news of “Your wife will bear you a son,” can strike a man off guard no matter who he is, or no matter what the occasion. Perhaps the message that most threw him off was one that we often overlook whenever we read or tell this story. Gabriel had also said to Zechariah the priest, “Your prayer has been heard.”

We are never told when or how many times Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child. Back in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit gave express notice that Hannah prayed and prayed in utter anguish for her firstborn, Samuel. But for this elderly, devout couple, we are left to suppose that the request was often on their lips. They knew that God was fully aware of the empty pain that was on their hearts, so they had every reason to pour themselves out in prayer to Him.

But how many times was it when, after fervently asking the Lord for a child, that the thought soon came afterward, “I guess He doesn’t want us to have children”? Did this pattern happen often enough that the presumed “No” answer had now made itself part of their prayer itself? That is to say, was Zechariah so convinced that they would remain childless, that his prayers started sounding cold to his own ears. Like they were only a formality, like he knew even before he prayed that God already was going to let him down.

If that is so, then his response to the Angel Gabriel, “How shall I know this?” is indeed an expression of doubt and unbelief not merely in the Angel’s message, but also a doubt and unbelief in “The Lord has listened to your prayer.” Which is the same as a doubting unbelief in God Himself.

For this doubting unbelief, this mighty Angel Warrior was authorized from his heavenly General to administer disciplinary measures. Gabriel shut Zechariah’s mouth to remind him of the very thing he had doubted, “Your prayer has been heard.” It was an exercise of mercy, for even though the priest’s muteness brought great inconvenience and difficulty to him temporarily, it was also tailored to rekindle Zechariah’s faith. He was given a gift while he prepared in a spiritual boot camp of sorts for the birth of his only son. And the song of praise that Zechariah sang on John’s circumcision day, the song called the Benedictus, is the result of that spiritual cross- training he received, of the old man’s renewed faith in the Lord of promises kept.

As Christmas is about to dawn upon us at the close of another year, Zechariah’s story teaches us that we too need to remember that our faith needs spiritual training. We are probably not going to be struck dumb for nine months and be forced to walk around talking with writing tablets. Instead, we would do well to remind ourselves of how special and precious our salvation is that has appeared among us in Jesus Christ.

If we were truly appreciative of that precious gift, we would not be dreading our endless preparations and occupying our thoughts with what gifts to buy, what meals to make, what family to see or not see this year. Instead, we would be taking this opportunity at the end of Advent to do as Paul instructed Titus and every other Christian who desires to dedicate their life to the Lord, no matter what vocations that He has called you to fill. We would rather continue our spiritual training, to renounce ungodliness of every form, saying no to worldly passions, and committing our lives anew to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we’re still living in this fallen world.

Most of all, we would best prepare for Christmas, or a new year, or the eventual arrival of the Glorious Risen and Ascended Christ, in this key way: We would believe once again, as Zechariah did, in the Lord who actually does hear our prayers, indeed, who knows them before we pray. For once we have that confidence back in our doubting and unbelieving hearts, we will indeed be ready and waiting for our blessed hope to appear. We would constantly have on our minds not the stresses of life or of the so-called “holiday season,” but instead we would be ever mindful of the One who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all that worldly lawlessness we see around us and looking forward to Jesus who purified us for Himself as a Holy People that are zealous for good works, full of love for Him and for our neighbors.

Thanks to the one-time sacrifice of our Savior, and the continuous forgiving and strengthening of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, we can believe once again in the Lord who has always promised to be with us to hear and answer our prayers. Along with that stronger and more confident faith, we can also be obedient to rulers and authorities, whether or not they are ruling in agreement with God’s law which is above all laws. We can make ourselves ready for every good work, speaking evil of no one, even at those times when we must warn and rebuke, but at the same time avoid useless quarreling. We should resolve to be gentle and courteous toward all people, since it is a blessed truth that all people have been redeemed in the precious blood of Christ.

Let every Christmas be a reminder of that boundless mercy that led our God and Savior to appear. That is the mercy that saved us, not by works done by us in righteousness, as Titus 3 says, but by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, a baptism that not only purifies us with the hope of eternal life, but also assures us with the inheritance that we possess as God’s children even now.

It may come as a shock to you every now and then, that same shock that Zechariah felt when he heard, “Your prayers have been heard.” But as the old priest received mercy from the Angel Gabriel and engaged in a season of training for the revival of his faith, so too you receive mercy from your heavenly Father this Advent and Christmas. During this time of preparation, remember your baptism, through which you were cleansed with the washing of regeneration and rebirth. And like Zechariah, may we sing the Benedictus with joyous expectation for the final appearing of Jesus and the full reveal of that for which we hope.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:68
benedictus Deus Israhel quia visitavit et fecit redemptionem plebi suae
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.