Silence
Luke 1:68-79
Luke 1:5-20
Preachers talk a lot. I can admit it! Some talk more than others. Charles Stanley, who pastored a very large church in Atlanta for 50 years, was known for preaching 45 minute sermons. John MacArthur, a well-known and respected pastor and author, has been known to preach for an hour!
Maybe the key to church growth is preaching longer sermons!?
You know... I truly believe, that if you’ve got something to say from God’s Word, and people are engaged... time doesn’t seem to matter. But in my experience, long winded preachers have more zeal than engagement. And I don’t mean to be critical, it’s just the truth.
I had the privilege of teaching preaching classes to lay pastors back in the late 90s and early 2000s. It was lots of fun. I always tried to convey to those Lay Pastors the “kiss” principle. K. I. S. S. Keep it short and simple!
One of my preaching mentors back in my seminary days stressed that the words of the preacher should be crafted around the concept of achieving maximum content with maximum contact, (in other words, you should have something to say that’s actually worth hearing), while always remembering that the mind can only process as much as the seat can endure!
I’ve tried, with minimal success, to remember that…
Of course, some people talk more than others. But, can you imagine not being able to say a single word for 9 months? I know a few people who’d never make it!
Well... Zechariah couldn’t talk for 9 months! He was a Levite, a priest. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were devoted, Godly people… but they were also childless in a day and age when children were seen as a blessing from God, and the lack of children was seen as a curse.
We’re told in our lesson that Zechariah was attending to his duties in the Temple when the Angel Gabriel appeared to him. Gabriel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would have a baby, who would prepare the way for the Messiah. But… (and this is significant, don’t miss it) Zechariah did not believe it! He didn’t believe the angel.
Now think about that for a minute. Here we have a faithful, God fearing priest, literally serving God in the Temple, when an Angel of God appeared with a message of hope and truth… and the PRIEST did not believe.
So the angel declared that Zechariah would be mute, from that moment of disbelief... he would be unable to speak until the child was born.
Zechariah had allowed his disbelief concerning his role in God’s plan of salvation blind him to the truth! And he was silenced until that truth could be fully proclaimed from his lips! Which means that for at least nine months he was unable to speak a word, until Elizabeth had the baby, and he was named John... as in John the Baptist.
If you had been unable to talk for nine months, I wonder what you’d say when you could finally talk again? I don’t know. But I do know... of all the things he could have said, Zechariah… FINALLY did what he should have done - and said what he should have said when the Angel first appeared!
He praised God for sending a Savior.
He told every one that God was sending light into the darkness. He broke HIS silence by proclaiming the grace and salvation of God through Christ.
Maybe you’ve noticed: we live in a world that (for whatever reason) seems to always choose darkness rather than light.
Phillip Rodgers and I headed out into the country back in October to try and catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights… that were visible into the Deep South, due to a particularly large solar flare.
Of course, we had to get away from the “light pollution” here in town… the street lights and lights from homes and businesses tends to “drowned-out” the natural light of the aurora. You’ve gotta eliminate the “light pollution” in order to see the true light from the heavens.
It strikes me that the same thing can be said of our faith! We’ve gotta eliminate the “light pollution!” We’ve got to minimize the things in this life that keep us from seeing, acknowledging, and praising God, for the true Light, for Jesus!
Of course, this time of year the “light pollution” is everywhere! We get distracted, if we’re not careful… by the twinkling lights and the “holly and the ivy” - the parties and gatherings… when God’s Son, our Savior, the True Light is in our midst, and deserves our praise!
Listen… I don’t want you to misunderstand: there’s nothing wrong with singing “Jingle Bells” and decorating Christmas trees, enjoying the sights and sounds of the season. There’s a place for all of that!
And that’s the point.
Zechariah was in a place where he should have seen the glory of God’s Good News… but he almost missed it, because he let what he had experienced overshadow what he was experiencing!
Don’t let the noise, and the bright (but fake) lights drown out the glory of what God has done for you this Advent season. Don’t begrudge or downplay times of silence. Times when God has called you to “be quiet” before him. For Zechariah that time of silence led to belief! And to the proclamation of the Gospel to a world and time that was desperate for some Good News!
And the Good News is: Christ is here! The Light is shining in the darkness! Advent invites you, and me, to prepare for the coming of Christmas! The Day when we mark and celebrate the birth of our Savior!
Don’t miss it. Don’t let the distractions become the focus of your attention! Spend some time this Advent Season in silence... allow the Holy Spirit to help you focus on the Reason (the true Reason) we celebrate Christmas.
Amen.
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