The day of the big football game had come. The preview show on TV was showing the teams arriving at the stadium. 90% of the players had ear buds or headphones connected to an iPod or similar device. Most of the people walking or waiting at bus stops are also plugged into listening devices. There is not much silence in our world.
In Zachariah’s world silence abounded. Not just because for nine months Zachariah could not talk; because there were no electronic devices filling the air with sounds. There were no newspapers or other publications either. News would travel by word of mouth and after conversations with neighbors and friends the people were left to ponder the events of their times.
In Zachariah’s world the people of Israel had been run over by foreigners for hundreds of years. Oppression and brutality by invading forces had become the way of life. Many of Zachariah’s countrymen, in the silence of their own thoughts, produced a harvest of hatred for both the foreigners and the leaders of their own country. Both John the Baptist of Jesus of Nazareth were born into a culture of angry people. But, there were still the sparks of an eternal hope within the people. Why else would they travel through barren wilderness to hear these two mighty men of God proclaim God’s righteousness?
We too, in this present age, are living in a culture of angry people. The approval ratings of our national leaders reach new lows each week. The economic news is as dismal as the political news. However, unlike Zachariah, we are not surrounded by the sounds of silence. In print and electronic mediums we are bombarded with angry messages telling us what to think.
I believe Jesus wants his disciples to follow his lead and find ourselves a quiet place, away from all the distractions of our culture. In this quiet place, alone except for our Bible and our guide, the Holy Spirit, let us become counter-cultural with Zachariah’s faith in the ultimate victory of God.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
Luke 1: 50-53
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
25-Dec-11 Luke 2:1-20
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