Second Sunday of Advent (2)

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 1:68–79 (NIV)

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—

to show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Sermon:

(slide 1)

Last week we considered the Advent theme, joy, as we find it in the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Today, we move on to another of Advent’s themes, “peace”. (slide 2) And the movie that highlights this theme is, “The Polar Express.” The Polar Express is an animated movie that tells the story of a group of children who have a chance on Christmas Eve to take a magical train all the way to the North Pole in order to see Santa’s workshop. One of the children is a 13 year old boy who has begun to question the stories about Christmas and how things work.

Though reluctant at first to board the train, curiosity gets the better of him and he along with other children already on board ride to the North Pole and see all the incredible things that happen at Santa’s workshop. This includes a chance to meet Santa himself. Santa even gives this boy the chance to request the first gift of Christmas and he asks for a bell. (slide 3) The ability to hear the bell symbolizes his ability to continue to believe. Whenever he has doubts, he can ring the bell, remember his time at the North Pole and receive peace.

In this movie we see the impact of doubt. We also see the impact of doubt in the life of Zechariah. Zechariah and Elizabeth are a couple who have not been able to have children. For whatever reason. If they were alive today, there might be a medical reason given. But in their day, God had simply refused to bless them with any children. And so the idea of having a child has been forgotten about, probably years ago. If working as a priest had a retirement age, Zechariah was probably starting to fill out his papers.

(slide 4) But one day, as he is serving the Lord, Luke records for us that Zechariah is visited by an angel, Gabriel. And he has some rather unsettling news for Zechariah and his wife. Turns out their plans for retirement will need to be put on hold because Elizabeth is going to have a child. And he is to be named John.

Now, put yourself in his shoes. (slide 5) You are closer to the end of your life than you are to the beginning. You know that most people who have children are a lot younger than you. And even though you might have wanted a child by this point of life, you’ve decided it won’t happen. Yet, here you are, being told now, that you will have a son. What would you think? What would you do?

I know what you would do because it’s the same thing I would do and it’s the same thing he did. (slide 6) Luke 1:18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Just like you, just like me, just like the kids in the Polar Express, Zechariah had questions. He was troubled. He even had doubts.

That’s why he was silenced for 9 months. (slide 7) Luke 1:20 says “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” So from that time until the birth of their child, he was unable to talk.

(slide 8)These verses we heard this morning are spoken after John was born and Zechariah is able to speak again. He realizes that what he has experienced is a sign that God is at work again and indeed, his son, is the forerunner of the Messiah. And the promised Messiah will bring peace.

(slide 9) Now, if the peace we are looking for is an end to wars and fighting and disagreements and struggles in this world, then we will be disappointed. But just like the boy could shake the bell and hear it’s ringing as a reminder of his trip to the North Pole, so you and I hold on to faith in Christ as a reminder that we have spiritual peace and one day when He returns we will experience the peace we hope for now.