Advent Day 3

". . . And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and 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 make ready for the Lord a people prepared.'”

    ~Luke 1:10-17 

At the beginning of this passage we see that in choosing Zechariah, God also chooses the multitude outside the temple. Through sharing in that moment, even without witnessing the presence of the angel, the multitude is positioned to receive God in that moment through their prayers outside. 

After 400 years of silence, God chose to appear to Zechariah, but He didn't choose to appear to Zechariah alone. 

Zechariah was serving in the context of community. His moment with the angel was private, but all the people standing outside the temple bore witness to who Zechariah was when he went in and when he came out. They got to see the events preceding the birth of their Savior. Though the particular message was for Zechariah and was given to him alone, the movement of the Spirit was for everyone. John's life was a gift for everyone. To lead them to Christ and ultimately, to redemption. And so God chose to appear before a single man while he was in the context of community so that more could witness the salvation story unfolding. 

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine 400 years of praying to God without seeing His presence? Can you imagine a regular rhythm of prayer in a context in which God feels distant and absent (so much so that your oldest living ancestor has never witnessed His presence)? And then in the midst of that pattern, an angel appears. What encouragement and praise must that have elicited? Even without knowing the true meaning of the events to come, how must that have felt to see an act of God after so many years of silence? To watch God moving for the first time in generations? 

And that's the gift God gave by so intentionally selecting the moment in which He appeared to Zechariah. That's the gift He gave by including the multitude. They're easy to brush off as mere details, but their presence is a testament to God's kindness. 

But all of that happens after Zechariah leaves the altar. What happens when he enters?

God proves that He heard Zechariah's unanswered prayer. 

I heard a sermon once that talked about how God answers our prayers long after we've stopped praying them, and the pastor used this story to illustrate the point. After 400 years of silence, after a lifetime without children, God granted Zechariah and Elizabeth the desires of their hearts. When God felt absent, when the emotions, which can be a great tool for intimacy with God, left God feeling distant, He was present. 

After 400 years, I would have given up on the idea that God was active and present. Though feelings are good, they fail us when they're not tempered by truth. God is just as active and present when we don't feel Him as when we do, and He heard every prayer that Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed through those many years of silence. And long after they'd given up hope for a child, God gives them so much more. He gives them a precursor to their Savior. He gives them a chance to participate in the salvation story. 

And of course, Zechariah is afraid. He's come face to face with an angel, with the glory of God. Like Moses before the burning bush, how could he not be afraid?

But what I've learned is that these moments of fear often contain an invitation. Moses was Israel's great leader; he was God's vessel for delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians to the Promised Land. And while the journey had a cost and Moses faced many trials, his life was a testament to God's power, love, and design. Moses was given a unique invitation to be God's vessel in a powerful way, and Zechariah is also given an invitation. This time to raise the one who prepared the way for the Messiah. And that invitation is worthy of fear. How great is our God that He would position us for His purposes in these ways? That He would look on the lowly sinner and invite him into His great salvation work?

God gives Zechariah and Elizabeth the blessing of a son to be their joy and delight, but He also gives them the blessing of a son who will be a joy and delight for the multitudes. Who will be great before the Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit. Who will be purposed before his life begins. 

The greatest joy John will bring is not in the personal joy he will bring his parents but in the eternal joy he will bring to the world through his ministry. 

Again, even while this message is specifically given to Zechariah, what it contains is for the multitudes. 

What it contains is a miracle.

And the miracle of John's birth is not only in being born to a barren, elderly mother. The miracle of his life is in preparing the way for Jesus. The miracle of his life is in turning many to God. The miracle of his life is in being filled with the Holy Spirit.

How often do I take that last miracle for granted? The indwelling Holy Spirit wasn't commonplace in John's time, but its frequency today has made it no less significant. The Holy Spirit lives inside me daily. Every day I experience a miracle. That fact is so inconceivable that it's easy to dismiss, but passages like these remind me it's miraculous. It's only through the power of God. I can delight, rejoice, and fall on my knees in awe of the mystery. And I can know that the Spirit will guide me for Kingdom purposes just as John was guided. 

Through one life, God affected the Kingdom for many. What would happen if we were all faithful to live out our calling? Would everyone truly hear the gospel? Certainly, it would be increasingly widespread. If we look at John's life, if we see how much God can do with one person, if we see the way John made the people ready, see the anticipation he created for Jesus, see the conviction he proclaimed to prepare hearts for their Savior, how much can He do with all of us? 

As we wait this Advent season for the birth of our Messiah, as we hold that in the greater context of waiting for Christ's return, we must know that our role is not merely to wait. We are to proclaim. We are to prepare the way. John made hearts ready for the coming of Christ, and as we sit in awe of this reality, let us remember that we, as the Church, are given the honor, the privilege, and the invitation to fill John's role and to make hearts ready for the day when Christ returns.