12/15/2019 God With Us Brings Joy!

A scripture reading this morning comes from Luke and those of you that have been coming to the community Christmas cantatas for several years. It reminds me angels are making their rounds. There's a line in there a neat line in the I think it's the course where they go on the four the four parts and sing about Zechariah made me that this scripture made me think of that song actually. So it's Luke chapter 1 verses 5 through 25. In the days of King Herod of Judea. There's a priest name Zechariah who belong to the Priestly order of abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God living blamelessly according to all the Commandments and regulations of the Lord, but they had no children because Elizabeth was Barren and both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving his priest before God and His section was on duty. He was chosen by lot according to the custom of the priesthood to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense now at that time of the incense offering the whole assembly of the people were was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar of incense when Zechariah saw him he was terrified and fear overwhelmed him, but the angel said to him do not be afraid Zechariah for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will name him John you will have joy and gladness and many Will Rejoice at his birth for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. You must never drink wine or strong drink even before his birth. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their god with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will go before him to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Zechariah said to the angel How will I know what this that this is so far. I'm an old man and my wife is getting on in years the angel replied. I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news, but now because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in your time. You will become mute unable to speak until the day these things occur. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondered it is delay in the sanctuary when he did not come out when he did come out. He could not speak to them and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak when it's time of service was ended. He went to his home. After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived in 4-5 months. She remained in seclusion. She said this is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace. I have endured among my people the word of God for the people of God.

Thank you, sir.

What is prey? Or may the meditation of our hearts and the words of my lips be pleasing in your sight our Rock and Our Redeemer? amen

This morning. We're just going to jump right into the story. We're just going to go ahead and meet Zakaria at the temple and we're going to get a little bit of background information first off Zechariah was Want a part of one of 24 different groups that together where the priests? Okay, so Zakaria and and his group came about twice a year for a week that they would spend at the temple. Of these twenty-four groups there total number is 8000 priests. They needed.

They technically only needed one to go in every day. Right but they decided that they want to split that job up probably around four or five different people went in at at one shot into the into the temple to do those things K to offer the incense on the altar. So you probably had one roll of a person that would gather the incense and place it on the altar you have another person then come in and light it you would have then another person come in after it was burned and get the ashes together and put it together take it back out and then you have another person that came in that was responsible for lighting the candles and then guess what someone else to take the ashes from under the candles out. Okay. Everybody wanted a chance to be In the sanctuary next to the holiest of holies. And so unlikely in all likelihood Zachariah would have went into the temple like this only a handful of times throughout his entire life. Is a very important moment in the life of a priest. They not only were seeking reconciliation for the communal sins, right but also for their own. And they were also bringing the prayers of the people but also their own. Prayers and that's where we see Zachariah here. We see the angel of of God is Gabriel appear to Zachariah in response. Who is Prague? Let's talk about that prayer for a moment. We we don't get a lot of story from the text, but we can read a lot into the text of what said first off Elizabeth and Zechariah were both from families that were Priestly families and they both were righteous in the eyes of God. That means that they did what they were expected to do and they did it well. Do you remember us talking a couple weeks ago? We talked about Mary and Joseph and their wedding and what it would look like and how the families would gather together outside while the the marriage was was consummated in the house to the family was gathered outside probably gathered the same way outside of the outside of the house is Zechariah and Elizabeth and talked about what their future hopes would bring they probably talked about the grandchildren that they would then be happy through Elizabeth and Zechariah and about how no will in and out the position in the eyes of the community that they would have and how great their lives would be and how much God would do through them. Was probably the conversation that happened outside with the families together. But then some time past. And there weren't any kids.

And it doesn't share with us in the story, but we know through the stories of lost that it probably just wasn't that they couldn't get pregnant, but they probably had some pregnancies that didn't work out.

their loss And there is deep grief. It was with even refers to it as disgrace. I wonder if she had some friends like job's friends that came. And sat with her in her grief and said what have you done wrong?

And eventually all this loss. It doesn't stop the prayer that she has with the prayer that Zakaria has but it probably begins to change for them as they age that they begin to Define their life is doing other things.

Maybe maybe Elizabeth was the favorite aunt. But maybe maybe Zakaria was the really cool uncle. Maybe maybe they Define their lives by being a support system for other families. Like why did Mary go to Elizabeth? That girl was in trouble.

That girl was uncertain. And that's where she went.

and so the story It's not just about. The answer to prayer it's also about the Deep lost that they must have felt. before this Joy enjoy Joy isn't the same as happiness. Joy isn't necessarily that things are all going great. It's a way of living. It's a lens like your glasses to look through to help you see the world. It's called the joy of the Lord.

When you look in the world to see what God is doing if you look with the joy of the Lord you can see God at work all around.

This morning. We're going to talk about Joy. But I don't want us to just say oh, it's the joy of getting what you want. No, it's it's the joy of having god with you no matter what.

the scripture for this morning

It refers to Joy. But I want to offer you. some more specific sources of joy

the joy of salvation the joy of Deliverance the joy of God's presence

You know the author of first John in 1/4 says that they were riding. That our joy may be made complete.

Nehemiah shares that the joy of the Lord will be your strength

What is the sound? of joy

We sang it earlier, right? Repeat the sounding Joy. What's the sound of joy?

See there's this song.

Trading My Sorrows It's I'm Trading My Sorrows. I'm trading my shame. I'm laying them down. for the joy of the Lord

There's something about the joy of the Lord that changes how we see the world and how we live our life. There's something about the joy of the Lord that makes these things different than what the world expects.

The joy of God changes how we see the world. We can't share Joy through a gift. I was at a store yesterday and in front of a

It was a whole wall of blankets with various college teams on them. I was searching for Joanne, Iowa Hawkeye apparel. And so they didn't have it up there and this guy next to me who was also from Iowa. If you are an Iowa Hawkeye shirt around people like Dar tracted to you. And so this guy is like looks at this isn't capitalism great. And I was working on the sermon in my head and it just kind of slipped out. I said, well not if you're looking for contentment. He walked away. I don't know why I don't know why but he did so that was the end of that. But but the reality is that we're seeking Joy can't be found in the gifts. It can't be found in the things it's deeper than that and it's different than that. Did Joy that Zakaria and Elizabeth had? with the birth of John how much did their experience of grief and loss forever changed the parents that they were to become?

How did all of that grieve? and frustration deep in their sense of joy I do not mean to contend that God causes these things that happened so that we might feel Joy. That's the shallow theological into the pool. But that no matter what happens in life. It can change our understanding of joy to be that much deeper. Into where we can see God at work around us and much more complex ways.

in order for us to pick up the joy of the Lord. We do have to lay down our sorrow and our shame and our disgrace. We have to lay down all of the ways that the world has failed us and that we have failed as well. For an order for us to share the joy of God, we have to live experienced all that joy for ourself. It's not that everything is okay and it's not everything is Peachy but God is with us and that is our sense of joy. see The Holy Spirit. Did you pick up on the Holy Spirit In this passage? the holy spirit that God sends after Jesus is Ascension. That was with John in the womb.

And John's role was to prophesied. Jesus is coming. And he was a weird cat in the way. He went about it. He lived in the wilderness. He wasn't known for good hygiene. He had some weird eating practices if you like locusts and honey, you've probably a good source of food all of these things.

But what he was doing was crying out in the wilderness to make a way for the Lord reminding people that they needed God and that God was coming among them. In this season of Advent. I want to remind you that God's movement brings us joy in God is with us. This story is different than any other Faith. It's not that God is some belief system that we have to believe this way and we have to do these things. But God is is connected with us and through us that we each have the opportunity to share the joy of God with others through the things that we do in the lives that we lead. Did the world that Elizabeth and Zechariah lived in isn't so different than the world today? This room is filled with stories of Hope and loss. despair disgrace and shame that's not how we are defined as a people of faith. We are defined that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And we reach out with others to share that our joy may be made complete through them. That's the hope that God is with us. It's the hope that we can share our joy with anyone no matter what their circumstance be. Because the joy that we have to share his and Ours. But it's God's.

butter spray

Ord help us to see your work in the world around us. Help us not only to experience but also to share your joy. Help us to lay down all of those things that we cling to.

So that we may pick up the joy.

the joy of salvation

the joy of Deliverance

and the joy of your presence

I'm in.