“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.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
– Luke 1:11-18
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:38
In our telling of the Christmas story, year after year, we often forget that the familiar tale has a prequel and does not begin with the angel Gabriel’s visit to a young virgin named Mary, but rather with an angel’s visit to an old and worn priest named Zechariah. Luke’s Gospel records this significant moment in history when after 400 years of silence, God spoke a fresh word of revelation to humanity in a place not unexpected. It was in the mighty Temple, the house of God, that God bellowed his voice again to a mature and godly Jewish leader.
No one would deny the godly maturity of the aged Zechariah. In fact, Luke tells us up front that he and his wife Elizabeth were “both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” (Luke 1:6) As a priest, Zechariah was a more likely candidate than most to receive God’s first words after a long held breath. As a priest, Zechariah’s whole life centred around the Scriptures. Zechariah would have known well the old story of God’s faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah, for instance, to give them their promised son Isaac in their old age. Luke tells us that Zechariah’s character also matched his profession. He clearly walked the walk as much as he talked the talk.
And yet, as the angel Gabriel spoke to Zechariah, announcing the message of God’s forerunner to be born through him and his aged wife, suddenly Zechariah became plagued by doubt. He did not believe the angel’s message. Zechariah could no get past the idea that his wife would actually conceive after such a lengthy suffering of barrenness. It seemed too impossible. Too far-fetched an idea, that God would announce such wonders to him.
What are we to make of this loss of faith, especially after Luke explicitly informs us that Zechariah was a godly individual?
I believe Zechariah’s response to the angel Gabriel was the response of a mature, godly priest who had lost his sense of childlike wonder at God’s ability to do impossible things. And because of this, it was his turn to be silent. God took away his ability to speak for a time until his promised son, John (not-yet the Baptist) would be born. Zechariah was ironically not allowed to announce this good news to anyone because of his moment of unbelief.
"I believe Zechariah’s response to the angel Gabriel was the response of a mature, godly priest who had lost his sense of childlike wonder at God’s ability to do impossible things."
After this ironic failure, Luke introduces us to the familiar story of Mary’s encounter with that same angel, Gabriel. Having just finished her childhood years and on the cusp of womanhood (Mary was likely 14-16 years old) we might expect some measure of immaturity or irreverent response from someone so young to something so majestic. Yet if you have ever spent time around the young, you know their response to the incredible is so often different. Though both Zechariah and Mary responded with awe and surprise, Mary’s response was not tainted by doubt like Zechariah. Mary asked Gabriel the same question, “how can this be?” but with a heart of curiosity rather than doubt. When Mary heard the incredible news that the holy spirit would conceive God’s son in her womb, she responded in childlike faith and humbled herself under God’s mighty hand (see 1 Peter 5:6).
"If you have ever spent time around the young, you know their response to the incredible is so often different."
This contrast between Zechariah and Mary, reminds us of the dangers of growing cynical and clinical as we age. As time goes on in life, we encounter many trials, griefs and sufferings. If we submit our needs to the Lord, we grow in wisdom, learning to understand that God has his purposes and his timetable and that we are wise to expect trouble and the ordinary patterns, cycles and rhythms of life.
However, if we are not careful to watch over our hearts, we can turn from wisdom to cynicism and begin looking at the world in a clinical/mechanical way. No longer are we awestruck by God’s creation of the stars and snowflakes. Our prayers become like a broken record, rather than fresh pleadings and expectations for God to draw near. Sometimes, we even “grow” to believe that everything in life has a natural explanation simply because we can forecast the weather with reasonable predictablity.
In childhood however, it is different. When I saw the falling snow as a young boy, it was clear that someone made it happen. Surviving a car accident at age 5 was by no means a happenstance of luck, God did it! Experiencing a lightning storm at age 6 was nothing short of God saying, “watch this, Chris!” When I was a child, my view of God was big and since God was God, he could do as he pleased anytime he wanted. And though “God can do it” may seem simplistic to some, it is the explanation the Bible so often gives. “God thunders wondrously with his voice: he does great things that we cannot comprehend. For to the snow he says, “Fall on the earth” (Job 37:5-6).
"When I was a child, my view of God was big and since God was God, he could do as he pleased anytime he wanted. And though “God can do it” may seem simplistic to some, it is the explanation the Bible so often gives."
As adults we are more tempted to see the world, not as a place of wonders, but as a predictable clock where nothing happens out of the ordinary. Too many times we take the Zechariah approach in our questioning, “How could God let this happen?” “If God existed, then why such and such?”. Rather than the Mary approach, “Wow Lord, how did you do that?” Both lines of questioning can lead us to further knowledge, but the former carries with it the black shadow of doubt, while the latter of faith.
Perhaps this is why we love the Christmas story so much. It reminds us that we are still little children basking at a wondrous God. May we learn to grow more childlike this Christmas, and all through the year, as we remember that “the Lord has done great things.” (Luke 1:49)
"Christmas...reminds us that we are still little children basking at a wondrous God. May we learn to grow more childlike this Christmas, and all through the year"