I like to begin with the priest in the Temple.
We can begin our advent meditations in any number of places—the stable, out on the hillside, with the vivid Old Testament prophecies. I particularly love the opening of Luke’s account. He begins at the breaking of 430 years of silence between the Old Testament prophet, Malachi, and Matthew’s Gospel. It helps ground me in the wonder of things to come.
We enter the story during the waning days of Herod the Great’s reign. In addition to being a murderous psychopath, he was also a masterful builder. Among his many projects was doubling the size of the temple complex and completely refurbishing the interior. The temple was now a worthy reflection of its former glory. In the centuries since, more has been written about the temple than any other building in the world.
That God sent His Son at this specific time in history is always something to ponder. Jesus is not sent to a family of spiritual lightweights, including near—and extended—relations. Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, is married to a priest whose lineage–along with her own–traces back to that first high priest, Aaron. Zechariah is among the 24 companies of priests numbering in the many hundreds who minister for a week at various times throughout the year in the temple in Jerusalem. Lots are drawn to choose who will obtain the duty of entering the Holy Place and offering incense.
It’s hard for us to imagine the honor of this most coveted of priestly assignments. A priest could serve in the many duties of the temple his entire life without ever being chosen to offer incense in the Holy Place. And now the lot has fallen to this faithful priest. Luck of the draw? Hardly.
That day Zechariah would move about quietly in a beautiful 30′ x 60′ room furnished with:
- an ornate table set with the bread of the Presence, signifying the abiding presence of God,
- the lamp stand of hammered gold with its six branches curving out of the center shaft, casting a soft glow throughout the holy room,
- and, finally, the golden altar of incense filling the room with the aroma of fragrant spices.
Suddenly,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
What?
Zechariah’s response? He is shaken and overwhelmed with fear. Then the angel, who we later discover is Gabriel, speaks:
Your prayer is heard, Zechariah. . .your wife will bear you a son. . .he will be great in the sight of the Lord. . .filled with the Holy Spirit. . .to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
This is a lot for an elderly man to take in or, I daresay, anyone. After four centuries of Divine silence. Unfortunately, in his shock, the only words Zecharias manages to utter earn him no points with the angel:
How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is well along in years.
Here is one of those places in scripture where you can’t help but smile. Was there an angelic eye roll? A look of “you’ve got to be kidding”? Gabriel’s response might nowadays sound something like, “Brother, focus! I am Gabriel! I stand in the presence of God Almighty Who sent me to you with this earth-shattering message!”
Let’s be honest. Not one of us would have responded differently than the stunned priest. But here’s what I’ve been pondering. Our shock would not excuse our negative response. This was no time for doubt. For centuries the Jewish people had professed to be awaiting the Messiah.Their rituals and traditions and the reading of the prophets year after year proclaimed their continuing expectation that deliverance would come. Just not, in the general opinion, like this.
The penalty for Zecharias’ hesitation is nine months of being mute. We can imagine how Gabriel’s words scroll through his mind day after day. He writes them down (we have the record) and will certainly want Elizabeth to know every word. How hard it must be throughout those months unable to speak all that is in your heart about the angel’s message regarding their son and the Child he would herald.
When Gabriel appeared, he had said immediately, “your prayer is heard.” Did he mean that the elderly Zechariah and Elizabeth had been praying for a child? Unlikely:
He [your son] will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. . .
This devoted, steadfast priest had been praying that the long-awaited Messiah would hasten His coming. And his prayer was, as the angel confirmed, heard. The unexpected bonus was their own miracle child, anointed from the womb to prepare the way of the Lord.
And so, knowing the scriptures, we are to await, to expect, to anticipate the Lord’s return. Our challenge may be distraction—so much to occupy our attention—and the 2,000 years since His ascension. Addressing this in his second letter, the Apostle Peter writes:
Since these things [heaven and earth] are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God. (3:11 & 12)
The meditation: It’s not a matter of being so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good; rather, it’s cultivating a constant, prayerful awareness of the coming of the Lord. He is coming back. Zechariah would be the first to encourage us to be waiting with great anticipation.