Silence Speaks Volumes

Sometimes our silence says more than out words ever could. In fact, sometimes there are no words at all, and only silence is truly reverent.  Zechariah is a forgotten figure in the landscape of the coming Messiah; but somehow relate to him best of all.

Gabriel appeared to Zechariah.  But Zechariah responded to the news from God with fear and with doubt. And though his words to the angel really seemed to mirror the response Mary had to the same angel, his tone was way different. Why else would he have been left without words until the day his wife would give birth to their long anticipated son.  Zechariah's silence may have appeared to be a curse, or at least a chastisement...and it really was. But as is true with how God deals with many of us, this development had both blessings and punishments woven into it.

He left the temple speechless. He had no one to which he could share his joy. And when his wife Elizabeth learned of her pregnancy, he couldn't express how exited he was....how happy he was for her, for them; that the veil of childlessness was lifted from their line. He couldn't express the gambit of emotions he would have been feeling....but he was silent. And when you are silent, sometimes you listen. And when you listen, you hear words explicitly spoken and words implied.  And often it's when we refrain from speaking, that our Hod speaks to is and fills is with his wonders which are truly indescribable. Maybe we all can benefit from being at a loss for words.

Eventually Zechariah spoke again and had these words to reflect to God on his son who would play a valuable role in Jesus' life as his cousin and baptizer.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.  And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

The Moment That Changes Everything

I'm reminded of our fragility as people.  Here one day, gone the next.  Which makes each moment....each second of this life full of significance.  We truly don't know which moment will be our last, so we must live each moment on purpose.  Are you floating through life or living on purpose?  I think the Shepherds were floating.  Day in and day out, they took their flocks to their fields and watched- not anticipating anything in particular, just watching.  Watching sheep sounds about as monotonous as it gets.  Sure there are moments when you are forced to leap into action and protect the sheep, but those moments are few and in the mean time silence and boredom to fill the nights. 

In that one moment, everything changed.  The angels entered the horizon quicker than a heartbeat and proclaimed a life changing reality not just for the Shepherds but for all of mankind that moment forward.  LIFE.  SALVATION.  PEACE.  JOY.  LOVE. The answer to all of life's questions had just been born, in a manner so humble that barely anyone noticed.  But heaven met earth...in that moment.  And everything would be different forever.

Do you think the Shepherds ever took their jobs for granted again?  Do you think Joseph ever looked at Mary the same again?  Yet we get stuck in monotony, we get stuck living our lives and floating through; engaging our brains with the temporary in order to avoid the eternal.  I invite you this Christmas season, to be rocked by the news again- perhaps for the first time.  "For a child has been born- for us!  The gift of a son- for us!  His names will be:  Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.  His ruling Authority will grow and there will be no limits to the wholeness He brings." (Isaiah 9:6 THE MESSAGE)

Because I cannot do it by myself, I need the AMAZING COUNSELOR.  Because i am weak, I need the STRONG GOD.  Because I am an earthly son, I need the ETERNAL FATHER, and because of my short-comings, I need the PRINCE OF WHOLENESS.  And He is here, He was born at Christmas.  So now I must live for Him, every moment on purpose for Him.