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Luke 1:5-19

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

8 Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 

Jan Richardson

The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief

Blessing of Hope

So may we know 

the hope 

that is not just 

for someday 

but for this day—

here, now, 

in this moment 

that opens to us:

hope not made 

of wishes 

but of substance,

hope made of sinew 

and muscle 

and bone, 

hope that has breath 

and a beating heart, 

hope that will not 

keep quiet 

and be polite, 

hope that knows 

how to holler 

when it is called for, 

hope that knows 

how to sing 

when there seems 

little cause, 

hope that raises us 

from the dead—

not someday 

but this day, 

every day, 

again and 

again and 

again.

Our Starry Night Advent Devotional reminds us that… “Advent is a season of waiting, watching, and wonder. Not like ‘waiting in line,’ but rather like waiting for a concert to begin, a love letter to arrive, or the stars to come out on a cold, clear night. Advent is a  time of anticipation, expectation, and excitement. A time of renewing our hope, peace, joy, and love, and getting ready for the marvels along the way. The word itself is from the Latin adventus (‘arrival’) – and of course the wondrous One who’s arriving is Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.” 

Today is also the beginning of  a new church year in which we will travel together through the Gospel of Luke. The author of Luke likely wrote sometime in the late first century, using the Gospel of Mark as a primary source. 

There are no parallels to the birth narrative in Luke in the other gospels. It is only the author of Luke that set out to establish a detailed pre-history of Jesus’ life, elevating his conception and birth to an epic saga. 

Luke begins his narrative with the announcement to Zechariah that their prayers have been answered and he and his wife Elizabeth will become parents in their old age. Zechariah is visited by the angel Gabriel and told that they will have a son and are to name him John. 

Astounding news is not always easy to hear. They had prayed for a child when they were much younger. How would this work now? Zechariah expressed his doubt and wonder. 

Gabriel’s response? “Do not be afraid.” Fear not. Theologian Wilda C. Gafney  writes that  “fear not” are the words that signal the advent of a new age. Something is coming. Someone is coming. It will be wondrous, and it will also be terrifying. God is at work in human bodies, building families through which God’s saving love will be known. Gafney recognizes that the advent of the messianic age is a relational paradigm. In the Gospel, the story takes place in a family, in a community. There will be a familial relationship between Jesus and John, and Mary and Elizabeth. There will also be a spiritual familial relationship between the disciples of John and the disciples of Jesus. Like the prophet Elijah, John will bring intergenerational restoration and healing, turning the hearts of each generation toward the other and turning the hearts of human beings back to God, who then reflect that love back into the world.  

“Do not be afraid.” Can we hear these words of the angel Gabriel directed to us? Throughout this scripture we are told “do not be afraid” even though the work of living out the love of God in our myriad relationships is an overwhelming task. 

Of what are we afraid? 

To the fear that we cannot love the world into wholeness, God says, “Do not be afraid.” Have hope. To the fear that we cannot eradicate patriarchy in society without first eradicating patriarchy in religion, God says, “Do not be afraid.” Have hope. To the fear that we cannot live in peace in the fullness of who we are, publicly and privately, God says, “Do not be afraid.”  Have hope. 

Time and again history repeats itself. That is both hopeful and heart wrenching. In the days of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, John and Jesus, power was retained by brutally suppressing all opposition. But we also know from history that time and again love prevails over evil. Always. 

Yet, how do we keep hope alive in the midst of so much pain and suffering; our own and that of others?

As we enter the season of Advent, we need not be afraid to enter into the shadows present in our daily lives. This Advent we can actively wait for Jesus to come, lighting candles of hope, peace, joy, and love – letting the light shine on the broken among us who are longing to be made whole. We may be their flicker of hope. We may be the family that they hope for.

Artist, minister, and poet Jan Richardson writes that, “Christ came not to dispel the darkness but to teach us to dwell with integrity, compassion, and love in the midst of ambiguity. The one who grew in the fertile darkness of Mary’s womb knew that darkness is not evil of itself. Rather it can become the tending place in which our longings for healing, justice, and peace grow and come to birth.”

May it be so.

Rev. TJ Mack – December 1, 2024