Responding with JOY
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Mary VS Zechariah / Elizabeth
The circumstances
1 - circumstances
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Zechariah held up as outstanding examples - literally called ‘Blameless’
However, they were barren -a circumstance they themselves described as a ‘disgrace’
What happens?
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 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.”
Now, that’s Zechariah’s start. Here’s Mary’s:
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
We don’t know much about Mary. We can infer she was poor (the offering she gave in the temple was for someone who couldn’t afford a normal offering).
She was engaged to a man - meant that things were definitely going well for her!
One set of people who are held up as 'righteous and blameless’, another set who aren’t.
However, we’re also made known that the ‘righteous and blameless’ people felt ‘disgraced’
ABout zechariah and elizabeth
Zechariah and Elizabeth had done things God’s way, but their own lives didn’t feel to them like they had gone the way THEY wanted.
I truly believe that this introduced a bit of bitterness and doubt into their lives.
You can see in Zechariah’s response to the angel. He asks, ‘How can I be sure?’
He knows it’s an angel - he’s terrified. He knows that the message the angel brings will be one of ‘joy and delight’. And he’s a priest - he even knows the future implications for what the angel is saying about this new child. Zechariah has the answers.
But I think the angel pushed a button there - a child. Because they didn’t have one.
Zechariah’s bitterness and doubt crippled the joy that the message from God was supposed to bring.
My first point - doubt and pain can cripple joy.
We all have something in our lives that introduces doubt and pain. and maybe we remain faithful - but those circumstances can still cripple our faith.
However, MARY was facing something different.
Mary was on the up and up, engaged to a good, godly man. And the message from the angel - this had the potential to be NOT great for her. After all, look at the reaction of Joseph
He WAS a righteous man, so he wanted to divorce her quietly so as not to expose her to public disgrace. That means, this whole thing very much had the possibility to go down IN disgrace.
Mary was faced with a situation that could have ruined her IF God was not who he said he was. IF God couldn’t prevent public disgrace. Basically, Mary’s situation could have ruined her IF. But Mary trusted that God would take care of everything.
And we see this - when Mary sings a song of praise to God, the very first line goes,
And the angel, when he spoke to Zechariah, highlighted how much joy the child would bring them. To mary?
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
See it there? ‘For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant’. Mary knew that all this COULD cause her shame and grief - but she trusted that God would be mindful of her state and take care of her as well as carrying out his plan.
My second point: Trusting in God can turn pain into joy
I really believe that Luke was trying to teach us something by putting these two stories together. Because it’s two sides of the same coin really - responding to God’s gracious gifts with Joy.
And when we’re faced with a situation where we’re asked to trust God, but that by our estimates doing so could cost us - God still shows his great faithfulness and grace. Because he can take any situation and turn it into something beautiful
Because, if we let bitterness, or doubt, or hardness creep into our hearts, when God moves - and He will - we can strip away the joy that God intended for us to walk in.
But Mary ,she trusted God. She WANTED to let God do whatever he needed to do, even if it cost her. And because of that, she experienced great joy.
So, my practical question for us all here - Who will we be?
Because hard times in life WILL come. Opportunities to hold onto pain or doubt will come. But what will we hold onto?