Rev.
Jeffrey T. Howard
First
Presbyterian Church of Ocean City
Sermon
–
Luke 1:5-25. 57-66, 80
Zechariah’s
Son
November
29, 2015
Before
I begin this morning I would like to give you a brief update on my
trip to South Korea. This trip was part vacation and part mission.
The mission part consisted of meeting with Presbyterian pastors and
educators, and preaching in Presbyterian churches. Last Sunday Grace
and I were in Chungju, South Korea. I was warmly greeted by Dr.
HyeonSang Jo of the DaeChon Presbyterian Seminary and the Rev. Dr.
SunHwan Hwang, pastor of Sewon Kyung (Smiling Soul Happy) Church. I
preached last Sunday at the 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 worship services at
Dr. Hwang's church. Grace preached at the 9:30 and 2:00pm services
for children and youth. We also met with two Presbyterian
theological students from DaeChon Presbyterian seminary who last year
served as interns for New Castle Presbytery, InJung Park and MinAh
Peum.
Later
that Sunday I met the Rev. Dr. ChunSu Park at the NamJung
Presbyterian Church in Iksan, South Korea where Grace preached at
their 7:00pm service. We then traveled to JeonJu, South Korea where
we were greeted by the Rev. Dr. InSu Kim of the HeeRak Presbyterian
Church. He introduced us to the Rev. Dr. DuckHo Oh, President of
Hanil Presbyterian Seminary.
Presbyterians
have a long history in South Korea through the work of our
missionaries, and it was a great honor to visit them and represent
this church and New Castle Presbytery.
Today
is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent comes from a
Latin word, adventus,
which
means coming or arrival. And so it is used as we anticipate the
coming of Jesus. The ancient prophets talked about the coming of
Christ and so we hear the words of Isaiah as we light the Advent
wreath. The New Testament tells us that Christ is coming again. And
the Gospels tell of us Jesus' coming two thousand years ago. This
Advent we will turn to the Gospel of Luke and witness the events
leading up to Jesus' birth. This time was filled with the birth of
Sons and the singing of Songs. And so I begin a sermon series on the
Sons and Songs of Christmas.
We
start today with a look at the birth of John the Baptist. John the
Baptist is the antidote for an excess of Christmas materialism as he
reminds us to “prepare the way of the Lord.” Luke wants us to
understand John's birth before we can understand Jesus' birth. And
so we turn to the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. We will get
to this good news, but first let's pray.
“Faithful
God, your promises stand unshaken through all generations. Renew us
in hope, that we may be awake and alert watching for the glorious
return of Jesus Christ, our judge and savior. Amen.” (Book of
Common Worship p.172.)
Luke
1
5 In
the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named
Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his
wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both
of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s
commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But
they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and
they were both very old.
Luke's
story of the coming of Jesus Christ begins with two ordinary people.
Zachariah was a simple country priest. He taught and prayed with the
faithful of his village. His wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a
priest. He lived a comfortable life, but there was a problem. Just
as we saw two weeks ago with Hannah, Elizabeth has no children. And
like Hannah the only thing Zachariah and Elizabeth could do was to
turn to God in prayer.
This
is what we do as we wait for Jesus to return. We use prayer as a way
to share our needs and concerns with God, trusting that God hears our
prayers and responds. When Jesus does return we will be able to
address him directly. And in the resurrection we will no longer have
needs and concerns. But today we use prayer as a way of
communicating our needs to our savior. Let's return to Luke and see
what happens to Elizabeth and Zachariah.
8 Once
when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest
before God, 9 he
was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to
go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And
when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled
worshipers were praying outside.
As
a country priest Zachariah would come to Jerusalem three times a year
to help with the festivals. And he would come twice a year to help
with the sacrificial system at the Jerusalem temple. This year
Zachariah will receive a great honor. He has been chosen for a once
in a lifetime responsibility to enter the Holy of Holies and present
the prayers of the people directly to God.
This opportunity is
extended to us as well. Since Jesus ascended to heaven to serve as
our High Priest we now have the ability to approach God directly
through him. The protestant reformers told us that all believers are
like Zachariah. We are all priests. When we worship and pray we are
priests, like Zechariah, entering into the Holy of Holies, and into
the very presence of our God.
When Zachariah
entered into the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem temple he brought
with him the prayers of the people. He also had a very special
prayer that day. This prayer was for his wife to have a child.
Let's see what happened.
11 Then
an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side
of the altar of incense. 12 When
Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But
the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your
prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and
you are to call him John. 14 He
will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of
his birth, 15 for
he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine
or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit even before he is born.
In
the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple in the presence of God,
Zachariah, a simple country priest, received a very important message
from God. God was sending a prophet to prepare people for the coming
of their messiah. This prophet will be born of Zachariah's wife
Elizabeth. And they are to raise him, as Hannah raised her son,
Samuel, to be used by God for his purposes. And what are God's
purposes for this new prophet?
16 He
will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their
God. 17 And
he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and
the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.”
Zechariah's
son will be a prophet. He will call people who have drifted away
from the faith back to God. He will call people to obedience of
God's law. The reason he will do this is that the people must be
prepared to receive their savior who is coming. I'm sure that when
he heard this Zachariah had some questions and more than a little
doubt. So he questioned the angel.
18 Zechariah
asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man
and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The
angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of
God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good
news.
God
has sent the Angel Gabriel to prepare the world for the coming of its
savior. This is big news. This is good news. And this is the news
that Zachariah's son will proclaim. Zachariah couldn't wait to tell
everyone the good news, but that wasn't his job. The proclamation
will come from his son. Let's go back to the story and listen to
Angel Gabriel.
20 And
now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this
happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true
at their appointed time.”
Zachariah
is now mute, unable to talk. Of course, this happens to him just
before he is to make the biggest sermon of his life. So let's see
what happens when Zechariah returns to the people after praying in
the Holy of Holies.
21 Meanwhile,
the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so
long in the temple. 22 When
he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a
vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but
remained unable to speak.
All
Zachariah could do was to try to communicate the good news with wild
hand gestures. They people realized that something big had happened,
but they didn't know what. All they can do is wait as we wait for
the coming of Christ and now Zachariah will go home to his wife and
they will wait to see if God's promises come true.
23 When
his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After
this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained
in seclusion.25 “The
Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown
his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.
57 When
it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a
son.58 Her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great
mercy, and they shared her joy.
God
has kept his promise. A son has been born to Elizabeth and
Zachariah, just like the son who had been born to Hannah and
Elkannah. Hannah dedicated her son to God's service. He was the
great prophet Samuel. What will Elizabeth and Zachariah do with
their miracle son?
59 On
the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were
going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but
his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
62 Then
they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to
name the child. 63 He
asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he
wrote, “His name is John.”
God
proved his faithfulness to Zechariah. Elizabeth had a son. And in
obedience to the command of God as spoken though the Angel Gabriel
they called him John. The contract is complete. God and Zechariah
have both kept their side of the bargain. And so there is no longer
any reason for Zechariah to remain mute. Let's return to Luke.
64 Immediately
his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to
speak, praising God. 65 All
the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country
of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone
who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child
going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
80 And
the child grew and became strong in spirit ; and he lived in the
wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
As
your pastor I can proclaim to you today that the time has come for
all people to return to God. All people are now to repent of their
sin and obey God's law. All people are to do this because the savior
is coming. Prepare the way of the Lord. Christmas will soon be
here. Let's pray.
“Eternal
God, through long generations you prepared a way for the coming of
your Son, and by your Spirit you still bring light to illumine our
paths. Renew us in faith and hope that we may welcome Christ to rule
our thoughts and claim our love, as Lord of lords and King of kings,
to whom be glory always. Amen.” (Book of Common Worship p.173)
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