Too caught up to encounter. The story of the angel Gabriel appearing to Zechariah reveals something I think we can all relate to. It reveals a “righteous” person’s inability to recognize God’s call. It reveals a lack of faith that God can answer prayer.
luke 1:5-25
In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.
Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
the messenger
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
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.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
disbelief
Then 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 said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
she knows
Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”
too caught up
As you know, I’ve been journeying with Joseph through this Advent with my Rejoice Advent Meditations. So, it would seem logical that my first inclination was to compare Zechariah’s reaction to the angel with Joseph’s reaction to the angel in his dream.
I think Zechariah was too caught up to encounter God. Let me explain. Zechariah was a priest. Judging from the responsibility of our priests today, I would venture to guess Zechariah was extremely busy. As a priest, he bore the responsibility of serving his division according to the rules and laws of the time.
On the other hand Joseph, a carpenter, recognized the message of an angel in his dream. He recalled the Scripture he knew so well and recognized it’s fulfillment in his current predicament.
Zechariah seemed quite distracted from the present moment by his responsibility. Isn’t it hard to believe that Zechariah would doubt the angel, given his position? But he did. He lacked faith and was too caught up to encounter God. Joseph, on the other hand, was a man of deep faith who encountered God even in his dreams.
can you relate?
Who do you relate to? Are you like Zechariah? Maybe too caught up in religious rules and laws or too caught up in the busy-ness of the life you’ve created to truly encounter God? Do you lack faith?
Are you like Joseph? Do you give yourself time and space to actually encounter God – to feel His Presence and hear his voice?
one last thing
When I talk about encountering God, not only am I talking about our personal relationship with God but also our encounter with God through our interaction with others. Do we see them? Can we hear them? Are we compassionate toward them? Think of how good it feels to be seen, heard and understood. God bless you!
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