Luke 1:5-25, 57-79   Zechariah Waits in Silence

 

     The delightful faith adventure  Zechariah and Elizabeth have together here is easy to swallow all in one reading or perhaps two.  But there is a lot of waiting  in this story.  Zechariah and Elizabeth have waited all their lives  and actually given up on having a child.  When Zechariah gets a  message directly from God, or at least a very high angel, Gabriel, and doubts it, he is made silent.   Now he must communicate  the news with gestures.   Then he had to wait for her to understand.  Even when they pursue their new intimate challenge there is some wait and wondering if it will be successful.  And then wait some more,wait for a baby.  And during all that time Zechariah waits, perhaps wondering if he will ever speak again. 

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     And he waits with his celebration bottled up inside him. No wonder he bursts forth with a song after he says, "His name is John!"  Of course, Zechariah wasn't waiting for Christmas.  It was a pre-Christmas event.  A celebration of Thanksgiving - thankful for the birth of their son, John.   I think I overlook the amount of waiting in this story.   Personally, I don't like waiting a whole lot. I rush to get things mailed, often driving to a post office unnecessarily.  Waiting in my car in line at a take-out window is my least favorite wait. I'd rather get out and go inside,  But waiting patiently for something wonderful, like the joys of Christmas, this waiting makes it all the more joyful for me. I hope it does for you my reader, too.  

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