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Celebrating Advent - December 8

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Sing: Select one or two songs of your choice

Reading: Luke 1:18-23
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 

Summary (for your preparation): Zechariah is punished quite severely for his disbelief. Truthfully, it is a little hard to understand this. For instance, Mary asks a very similar question in verse 34 as the birth of Jesus is announced to her. She receives an answer, validating her question. Zechariah is punished severely. Why? Perhaps it is because Zechariah was priest all of his life and after realizing he was in the presence of God, he should have simply believed him. In other words, perhaps Zechariah the seasoned vet should have known better than the 12 year old Mary. Nonetheless, Zechariah is unable to speak. We can conclude that without office max and laptop computers or texting, their communication would have been very limited, leaving many questions unanswered as to what had happened and why. A closer look at verse 24 and 25 leaves us wondering if Elizabeth even found out through Zechariah or if she just realized she was pregnant one day. Perhaps the lack of communication led to mystery, which drew more people to wonder about the things that were about to unfold.

Questions/Responses:

 What was Zechariah's punishment? He could not speak until the baby was born

 Why was Zechariah punished? He was punished because he did not believe the words of the angel of the Lord. He doubted God and his Word and he did not believe

 Do you think Zechariah's punishment was too severe? Why or why not?

 What do you imagine it would have been like after Zechariah came out of the temple and could not talk? Do you think the mystery filled them with anticipation about what was about to unfold?

What would it be like if your dad or mom could not talk for nine months? How would that be different than Zechariah not being able to talk? We have paper and pens and phones and computers. We would still be able to communicate everything we needed to. Zechariah would have been more limited. 

 What does Zechariah's punishment tell us about how God feels about his word? It shows how important God's word is and how important it is for us to believe.

Prayer and Ending

Suggested Prayer: Father in heaven, thank you for working so wondrously in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Give us strength to believe your word instead of looking with anxiety at our circumstances. Please help us to remember that nothing is too hard for you. As we think about what it would have been like for Zechariah and Elizabeth to go so long without being able to talk let our hearts be filled with the wonder and anticipation at what they may have felt. AMEN

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