"What do you want for Christmas, young man?"
That's the question I used to get from the big guy in Red; that question, I was prepared for.
It was the follow up question that gave me great anxiety and probably kept my Santa Lap Visits to a bare minimum:
"Have you been a good boy?"
The question bothered me because I think that at an early age, I was well aware of my fallen nature. I was also equipped with an overactive guilt-gland that could always provide an ample supply of contrition whether it was needed or not.
But those aren't the two questions I want to address in this post, instead, they are:
How can I know?
How can this be?
Here is how I am approaching the Christmas season this year - I am sticking to a molasses-style Bible study that I adopted a couple (3?) years ago. That style is to move deliberately slow. My hope is to read a passage or chapter, then read it again the next day, and the next; sometimes when taking this course, I will begin to notice items that I didn't notice the first time. So this year, I am spending this first week of Advent with Zacharius and Elizabeth from the hills of Judea, as they learn of the miraculous coming of the last Messianic Prophet, John Baptist.
I like this older couple! They are a perfect example of the "one-flesh" relationship God established through marriage to display His own relationship with His people.
They are always working in tandem and both are said to be "righteous", both had a consistent "walk" and both were "blameless".
Most folks familiar with the story in Luke 1 - the prequel to the Christmas Story - know that Zacharius was met by the angel Gabriel while performing his duties as a member of the priesthood.
The angel laid out the basic strategy for upcoming events to old Zach and prescribed the proper tenants for rearing this prophet.
That's when Zacharius asked the first question:
How shall I know this?
If you don't know what followed, stop right here and take a few moments to read it.
Because Mary's visit from the same angel is mingled inside the John Baptist story, I read that account this week as well. I noticed that Mary also had a question for Gabriel:
How can this be?
Gabriel's responses to these two questions may appear on the surface to be a case for reverse discrimination. Zacharius gets what seems to be a punishing rebuke, while Mary received a "thank you for that wonderful question!" - teacher's pet- response.
While Zacharius was told that he would be unable to speak because of his unbelief; Gabriel used the opportunity of Mary's question to explain God's plan for the incarnation of Christ in more detail. This dichotomy of reactions caught my eye this week. I think the story has "marked" Zacharius -much like Thomas- as the consummate doubter.
I had jotted down some notes from my Pastor's sermon on this passage last year, he called the nine months of silence that Zacharius suffered - a gift! He pointed out how boldly Zacharius proclaimed praise to God when John Baptist was born and how staunchly he defended God's plan of action when the village people questioned the choice for the child's name.
Nine months of being unable to speak, had provided Zacharius with an excellent opportunity to listen.
He emerged a different man.
What an apparent change! Zacharius chattered like a school girl - okay probably not but I just wanted to say that - his words clearly revealed that God had developed in him an understanding of the mission for this bold new born prophet.
So while we clearly see Zacharius as being rebuked and punished by God - Gabriel actually was providing an answer to the question.
"How shall I know this?"
Gabriel implied - "Here's how - God is granting you the gift of silence for a time...so you can know."
This Christmas, a little more silence would seem to be desirable. I arose a little early this morning and built a fire in the fireplace with just that in mind - a little time of quiet. Conversely, it doesn't appear that Zach's surroundings grew any quieter - he did.
He listened.
And God changed him.
No comments:
Post a Comment