Sunday School at 9 am | worship at 10 am

Silence

Our Advent sermon series this year is “The Songs of Christmas.” The messages are based on the oldest Christmas songs in the world. These songs are not found in the hymnal but you will find them recorded in the Bible.

The four songs in order are:
   1. Mary’s Song —called the Magnificat—which is found in Luke 1:48-55
   2. Zechariah’s Song—called the Benedictus—which is found in Luke 1:67-80
   3. The Angels’ Song—called the Gloria in Excelsis—which is found in Luke 2:14
   4. Simeon’s Song—called the Nunc Dimittis—which is found in Luke 2:29-32

We began our survey last week with Mary’s Song. The message we heard from that song reminded us that God is at work in all of our lives in a way that transcends a normal life. This week we’re going to look at Zechariah’s Song—the Benedictus—found in Luke 1:67-80.

A lot of people are not familiar with Zechariah. He’s better known by the association he has with his wife, Elizabeth and his son, John, whom we know as John the Baptist. Zechariah and Elizabeth were never able to conceive. When a couple is unable to conceive we grieve with them, but in those days the inability to conceive evoked not sympathy, but hard questions. A childless couple might question the goodness of God. Contemporaries of the couple might question the couple’s faithfulness. As a priest, everyone on the village where Zechariah lived would be talking about this. How could there be a man of God whom God has not blessed with children?

But then something happens that is unexpected and remarkable. The angel Gabriel visited Zechariah while he was serving in the Temple. “Your wife will bear you a son and you shall call his name John” (c.f. Luke 1:13). Zechariah has a hard time believing this. Gabriel is convinced Zechariah does not believe his words, so he tells Zechariah that he will be unable to speak until the day these things take place (v. 20).
At first glance silence seems like rather severe judgment. How would you like it if you couldn’t speak for nine months? Nine months of being quiet. Nine months of listening. Nine months of paying attention to what God is saying through his word. All in absolute silence.

There’s a message here not only for Zechariah, but also for us. And it is this: If we don't seek out silence, we will probably not be aware of the awesome things God is doing in our lives.