Seek moments of silence, and use them to listen and ponder.
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. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 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. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 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. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 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 asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
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. 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.”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 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.
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “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.” (Luke 1:5-25)
Silence often makes people uncomfortable; they often want to fill it with something. Silence leaves you alone with your thoughts. Silence is good for thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know). It allows time to ponder without planning what to say next. Silence is also good for listening. Silence has a way of opening ears so they long for the words that are sure to follow. Silence is a powerful thing!
Luke takes us to a time of silence. The last time a prophet of the Lord had spoken among the people was over 400 years in the past. In silence, centuries came and went, with Malachi’s final words echoing the certainty of the Messiah’s coming; a coming which would be preceded by an “Elijah” who would prepare his way. So the people waited and yearned for this silence to end.
Zechariah was waiting too. He was a priest, married to a daughter of priest. Doubly blessed! He served at the Temple at his appointed times. What an honor! He and his wife were waiting for the Lord to remember his promise of salvation, and they were waiting for more than that. How often must they have prayed to the Lord to grant them a child! Month after month, year after year, decade after decade, prayer after prayer after prayer until hope gave way to acceptance and faded to resignation. Silence was the only answer that met their prayers!
Then Zechariah’s division was on duty again. Certain duties were chosen by lot, including the great honor of entering the Holy Place of the Temple to burn incense on the golden altar as a symbol of the people’s accepted prayers rising to heaven. A priest would only do this once in a lifetime. Once he was chosen, he could not be chosen again.
Zechariah had waited decades for this honor, too, until that day it fell into his aged hands. He entered the Holy Place and performed his task, but before he could leave, the Lord broke his silence. His angel stood beside the altar and shared good news with Zechariah. “The Lord has answered your prayer. You are going to have son. You will name him John, which means ‘The Lord is gracious.’ He will be devoted to the Lord. He will be the Elijah Malachi foretold, and he will bring people back to the Lord and prepare the way for Messiah’s coming!”
Instead of taking a moment in silence to ponder and take this all in, Zechariah speaks. He asks for a sign. The angel Gabriel responds, “How can you not believe this good news? Your sign is that you will be silent until all this comes to pass!” So in silence, Zechariah would wait and ponder and listen. Silence would become a severe teacher for him.
What about you? Over the next several days to few weeks, times of silence may be hard to come by. But in these days, remember the warning we see here with Zechariah. Seek moments of silence, and use them to listen and ponder. In these days of Advent, you will find the Lord is not silent. He speaks again of good news for all people. The Lord is gracious. The Lord has shown favor. The might of God is on the move. The Messiah comes to save. His gospel still speaks; he is not silent.
When the Lord speaks, silence is perhaps our best approach. Isn’t that what Elizabeth did here? For five months, she keeps this to herself in seclusion. Silence gives time to think. It makes us eager to hear more. It allows us to ponder again all the more, as Elizabeth did, “The Lord has done this for me.” What is it he has done? Let me close with these words as a poetic summary of his work:
Yet nights will bring their sadness And rob our hearts of peace,
And sin in all its madness Around us may increase.
But now one Star is beaming Whose rays have pierced the night:
God comes for our redeeming From sin’s oppressive might. (LSB 337/CWS 704)
.webp?width=36&height=36&name=1517headshots-141-Edit%20(1).webp){kind=small}
