Things are Getting Real – December 6, 2020, the Second Sunday of Advent
Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:5-23
December 6, 2020
We’re backing up a bit today from last week’s story. If you remember, we read last week from the Gospel of Mark. And Mark begins his Gospel, his account of the story of Jesus, with the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. And along with that, he tells of the ministry of the one who came to “prepare the way” – John the Baptist. That was our story last week.
But John’s story doesn’t start there! It starts with this wonderful story we have today of John’s father Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest in the Temple, and he was visited by an angel. And this is somewhere around 30 years before the beginning of John’s whole “baptism thing.” But Luke spends quite a bit of time on it – this and the story of Mary, which we’ll be looking at next week.
As I look at all these stories, it seem to me that “Things are getting real.” That’s the title of this sermon. And it’s an expression people use today that implies that things are starting to happen. Things are starting to “heat up.” Things are starting to get intense! We’re not just talking about things. They’re actually starting to happen. For example, we’re not just talking about a possible pandemic these days, like we were in January. Since then, things got real!
Well, that’s what we see in these stories from Luke. The prophecies from long ago said that something important was going to happen – someday. But, as we said in the story of John’s preaching last week, that something that was going to happen, was going to happen soon! Things were getting real! Extraordinary things were starting to happen! Prophecies were beginning to come true!
One of the things that happened was that, in both of these stories in Luke – the birth of John and the birth of Jesus – there are visitations of angels. In fact, there are visitations by the same angel! The angel’s name is Gabriel. And he was busy! And I would remind you that angels are fearsome creatures. At the very least, they are part of the “spiritual realm” of beings, created separately from earthly beings like us. They were the messengers of God. In fact, the word “angel” comes from the Greek word that means “messenger!” And seeing such a being from that spiritual realm was like seeing a ghost. And I don’t know about you, but I’d be afraid if I saw a ghost!
But more than that, angels were powerful, fearsome beings. And I’ve said before that we often think of angels as what? We think of them as being tall, thin, white, blonde, women, right? But we don’t get that image from the Bible. In the Bible, angels are powerful beings! They were frightening to see! And in both of these stories, the first words they said, were the words angels usually began with. “Be not afraid!”
So, as we would expect, Zechariah was frightened, at first. But his fear was quickly replaced by cynicism! Because the angel, Gabriel, came to tell him that he would have a son. And we’re told, at the beginning of our reading, that Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth was barren, and they were both “advanced in years.” I don’t know about you, but I’m “older than I used to be,” and I’m afraid to imagine what Luke (who was a physician!) considered to be “advanced in years.” But that’s what we’re told here.
So, as it goes here, even after this wonderful explanation of what was going to happen, and the lofty sounding prophecy that Gabriel gave, Zechariah questioned him. He said, “How can this be, since I am advanced in years – and I’m way older than Skip?!” Well apparently, questioning an angel wasn’t a very wise thing to do. Because Gabriel gets “miffed!” And you don’t want to get an angel “miffed,” I’m telling you right now! This angel says, “I am Gabriel, and I stand in the very presence of God! Who do you think you are, questioning me?!” “So, here’s what’s gonna happen! You’re not gonna be asking any more questions – not until you see this all come to pass!”
And that’s what happened! Zechariah was struck mute. And that doesn’t sound right to me. You can be “struck blind.” But can you be “struck mute?” Anyway, he could no longer talk – for nine months, until the baby was born! And then, in the part of the story we didn’t read, the angel’s prediction came true, of course.
You can read about that later in this chapter. But as the story goes, the child was born, and it came time to name him. That was an official event that went along with the circumcision ceremony. And at that time, everybody expected him to be named Zechariah Jr. – after his dad. But Elizabeth (who was the only one talking at the time,) said, “No. His name is John!” And they all say, “But that’s not a family name!” So, they asked his father. Do you get that, ladies? They asked the husband! Did they think the husband was going to supersede what his wife said!
Well, he didn’t! (Maybe he learned his lesson with that angel!) He called for paper and pencil and he wrote, “His name is John!” – with a Hebrew exclamation point! And immediately his “mute-ness” was lifted, and he began to speak. And as he spoke, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to utter a prophecy of his own. And you can read that at the end of this chapter, too. It’s all about who John would become, and it’s wonderful! We actually used part of it as our “Call to Worship” this morning.
So, things are getting real now. So far it’s all been prophecies and hopes. Now thing were happening! That’s what Advent was about. What was said was going to happen, was happening soon! And of course, that happened a long time ago. And it make me wonder if things “get real” for us. And what does that look like? Maybe we’ve heard the stories of Christmas for many years. Maybe we’ve celebrated Christmas – for many years. And then, somehow, everything became real to us. There came a point when we realized that this is about God himself coming into our world! This is about a turning point in all of history!
I wonder how often that happens. Because you know, many, many people celebrate Christmas – because it’s a wonderful time of the year. In fact, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or so says the song. And the sights and sounds of the season are very meaningful to many, many people. It’s a wonderful time! It’s a family time! It’s all those things. And maybe they even acknowledge that Jesus “has something to do with it.” After all, a newborn baby, this time of year… It kind of all fits in with the wonder of it all, doesn’t it?
But then maybe there’s a time when it comes to mean more. Maybe Jesus has come to mean more. And it all gets real. Like the Grinch, having stolen Christmas from the Whos, and hearing them singing. Has that ever happened to you? In a way, I hope it happens every year!
And don’t get me wrong. This is a wonderful time of the year! I love the sights and sounds of the season. But I do feel a kind of emptiness when it seems to be only that, and the coming of the Son of God into the world has been forgotten, or downplayed, or left out.
It all started with all of this “getting real” so long ago. And I’m sure people then thought the prophecies were all nice, and it was wonderful how they gave them hope. But now that hope was becoming reality. It was getting real for Zechariah and Elizabeth, and those who were close to their story. And it would continue to get real as the time grew closer.
And I hope for all of us that the coming of Christmas still gives us hope. We could use some of that in our crazy world of 2020. Maybe as this year comes to a close, we can see that hope a little bit more – even in the midst of all this. But may our hope be in the one who became a reality to the world so long ago. And may he be our reality today.
Prayer
Eternal God, help us to see the hope we have in the coming of Christ into the world and into our lives. May we see more clearly the light that shines in the darkness, and know that the darkness has never overcome it. May his light shine in us, and may his hope be seen in us. For we pray in his name, Amen.