Take Away My Disgrace

Childlessness

Floods are no fun… but droughts are devastating!

It is just two Christmas’s ago that eastern Australian was in the grip of sustained drought and bushfires.

Last month we were told that Australia has once again entered a la Nina weather pattern.

Night after night Gavin Morris tells us something like...

there’s a lot of moisture still in the air today;

there’s an extraordinary 4,000 km line of storms developing...

from the tip of Cape York to Melbourne, we can expect large amount of rainfall over the next three days.

Now dams are full... and houses are flooded.

This really is devastating for people who have flooded houses.

But an inland sea is so much better than the barrenness of a sustained drought.

Too much water is inconvenient for many, dangerous for some and terrible when livelihoods are destroyed.

But water is life, and when the water recedes everything flourishes.

But sustained droughts are just hot, dry barrenness; everything (grass, livestock, hope) is either dead or dying… or about to be set on fire!

Droughts slowly crush life and hope and leave people without anything but despair... and ever rising debt!

Droughts bring barrenness… but there are forms of barrenness beyond hot, dry winds, empty dams, dying livestock and no grass.

Sometimes barrenness comes from the decisions of youth. Sometimes other people abuse us and we struggle most of our lives to find fullness and productivity; sometimes we abuse ourselves and spend the rest of our lives denied things that we really want.

Sometimes barrenness might be a long dry spell in a church where pastor and people do their best to bring productivity… to little avail.

Where once there was flourishing and life and youth and ministries… the rains have not come…

some people have died, some have left for greener pastures; ministries have ceased; much loved traditions have slowly, inexorably been strangled…

some things have been tried… but the drought persists.

Sometimes the barrenness will be a much wanted child that is denied a couple.

As we open Luke’s gospel… there is a barrenness in Israel.

Israel is in the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

It’s supposed to be the land where the Creator God dwells, where people are safe from their enemies; where life flourishes and grain crops yield...

Where the land, the people and God are in beautiful productive harmony.

But as Luke begins his story God’s land is ruled by the Romans.

There are pagans in the Holy Land!

And it has been 400 years since the voice of God was heard and spoken by a prophet.

Israel is barren in so many ways.

And so Luke… after just 4 verses, brings us into contact with a godly old couple who is barren.

v4-7…

Zechariah and Elizabeth are symbolic of Israel under Rome in the days of Jesus’ birth.

They are upright in the sight of God. They are blameless. Not sinless. But they are a lovely godly couple who take God’s law seriously; when they read the Scriptures they try to live it out in their lives to the best of their ability.

But they have a grief beyond their capacity to rectify by themselves: they are childless, barren.... and getting old.

Israel has been barren for centuries.

The barrenness in Israel is symbolised by this childless old couple.

Both Israel and Zechariah are powerless to effect the change they need!

On this particular day Zechariah has been chosen by lot to be one of the two priest who would have a special privilege:

He was to dress in priestly garments… and while everyone was outside in the courtyard, he alone would take some incense and go into the holy place and offer it to God so their prayers would be heard.

The time rolled around, Zechariah is prepared; worshippers are in prayer; he goes inside this most glorious building, past the sacred furniture made according to the law of Moses, a golden lampstand on his left and the table of the bread and in front the altar of incense… behind the curtain the holy of holies.

Is it lovely? Is it terrifying? Is this home? He goes right up to the altar of incense, near the holy of holies.....

Suddenly Zechariah realises he is not alone!

There is an angel in the room with him… and his blood froze!

But this is the sound of rain on the roof!

Listen to the angelic message; straight from the lips of God to the ears of Zechariah by the angel Gabriel.

Luke 1:13–17 (NIV84)

13 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 give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 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 from birth.

16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

La Nina is about to break!

What a glorious, glorious, glorious sound!

God speaks to his people! After 400 years… God. speaks. to. his. people!

Your prayer has been answered. You will have a son!

What sort of son? Will he end up a no good layabout son; a wayward son; a profligate son?

He will be a joy and delight to you… and many will rejoice because of his birth… for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.

He will be consecrated to God, v15.

He will turn people back to the Lord their God.

He will prepare people to meet the Lord!

OH MY GOODNESS! God is coming back! This is what everyone has been praying for, hoping for, longing for, for centuries!

What barrenness and drought is in your life?

Perhaps for some it is an actual long longed for baby?

Ever since Abraham and Sarah, Hannah and Elkanah; Zechariah and Elizabeth, God has used the bitter barrenness of childlessness to ready God’s people for a special blessing of children in their old age.

But we also notice the word that begins v8; “Once...”. God only knows how many other childless couples their were even on that day in Israel… but once… when Zechariah’s division was on duty.

What about the barrenness of a church that once flourished?

Zechariah and Elizabeth are a wonderful example of what the church is to do (at least at this point).

They were godly and blameless, upright in the sight of God.

There are always things that cannot be rectified by people.

Always things outside of our capabilities. Health issues; relationships that we pray about and long for restoration.

People we love who are far from God.

We control what goes on inside our own skin.

We can be like Zechariah and Elizabeth. God has denied the prayer of our petition… but he is good and we will honour him!

Reading the Scriptures; belonging to a small group; going to church; caring for others, growing in love, joy, peace and patience… growing in godly wisdom and maturing into a joy-filled Christ-like Spirit-filled disciple of Jesus. No one can force us to stop that.

That only stops because we stop tending our own garden, we stop encouraging one another.

But then Zechariah then lets the side down a bit.

Look what happens!

Lk 1:18 “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.””

How can I be sure of this?

A godly priest, in the temple burning incense to God, spoken to by an angel (standing alongside; hovering off the ground!)?

And Zechariah says, “How can I be sure of this?”

We’ll see next week that the same angel tells an unknown young girl from no-where town she’s pregnant… and while she does ask for clarification… she doesn’t doubt the words.

Isn’t it true that it can be the old and wise that know how everything works… and therefore so easily doubt God’s ability to do anything different?

It’s a salutary lesson for those who are granted the privilege of passing years!

With age comes stability… which can be good… but the difference between being stuck in a rut and being in a grave is just the depth of the groove!

The stability of the aged can kill a church.

No! That won’t work.

No! God doesn’t do that sort of thing.

Doubt can masquerade as common sense… and kill off a new work that God is doing.

A new work that could break the drought.

The angel is not impressed.

Luke 1:19–20 NIV84

19 The angel answered, “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. 20 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 proper time.”

Gabriel’s message comes from God’s mouth to Zechariah’s ears.

Now if it was good advice… God wants you to pray more Zechariah; or be a better husband; or visit more people; Zechariah could do...

But it’s not good advice; the angel has good news.

News is to be rejoiced in; sing God’s praises; tell the world…

Because of his doubt… he will not speak… until the birth of his son!

We complain about the government stopping us singing God’s praises… or making us wear masks…

how much worse to have an angel share wonderful, drought-breaking, prayer answering news… and being struck dumb, unable to speak.. because of our doubts!

Imagine not being able not just to sing but even to speak and have to spend the best part of a year thinking about how disbelieving God’s word is not a weakness but a sin!

That’s Zechariah’s world now until the baby is born!

Well, the prayer meeting outside had finished… v21-22… and people were wondering what had done wrong.

When he emerged… how would he have looked???

After his group had finished their stint of service in the temple he goes home and sure enough, just as the angel said, Elizabeth conceives..

Luke 1:25 NIV84

25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

If I can just change the metaphor to finish.

When the Aussie cricket team disgrace themselves by losing the Ashes to England… they can go away and have a time of reflection, make some changes, get some practice… and hopefully redeem themselves in the next game.

The Ashes… and the Sandpaper!

But it doesn’t work like that if their disgrace comes from using sandpaper on the ball… or send lewd text messages to a woman… while the wife is home looking after the children?

For years to come… every time the media look for a twist on a story… there it is again… the sandpaper, the tears, the gist of the text messages.

This shame can’t be erased by some reflection and a commitment to do better next time… as helpful as that may be.

That disgrace potentially is lifelong… and even on Judgement Day.

But that is our disgrace as well.

God has laid out the rules for life… and we thought we knew better.

And that was disgraceful.

No trying to do better will erase that disgrace.

But God in his great mercy sends us a baby to take our disgrace on his own head and deal with it.

Fully, finally and forever.

Zechariah and Elizabeth’s baby will have the job of making sure we don’t miss the significance of the Baby whose birth we are about to celebrate once again.

Are you ready to meet him; welcome him, trust him, walk with him?

We must never forget that sometimes God moves after a long period of silence and even apparent absence.

Perhaps your longing and barrenness could be a sense that there is something missing in your walk with God.

Sometimes you hear his voice telling you to repent of long cherished attitudes and come to him… he will receive you and bless you and complete your life.

But you reply… “O Lord, how can I be sure? I’ve been to church for many years. This is what I know.