Announcement
to Zechariah
Very Rev. Dr.
K.G. Pothen
Date: 14th November 2014. St.
Luke 1: 5-23
Each Gospel presents Jesus quite
uniquely. The ‘Markan’ Jesus is misunderstood and abandoned. Thus the disciples
of the ‘Markan’ Jesus’ followed Jesus with this abandonment. The ‘Matthean’
Jesus’ is presented as the new ‘Moses’. Thus the ‘Matthean’ disciples gave
emphasis to keeping the teachings of Jesus. The ‘Johanine’ teachers present
Jesus as ‘the word incarnate’ and thus emphasize on believing in Jesus as ‘Christ’.
The ‘Lukan’ Jesus is portrayed as being compassionate. He is presented as being
compassionate, a friend to the outcast, throughout the History of Israel. Thus
a call is to be his disciple means, to seek, find and redeem the lost.
When
we read through the scripture portion, we are struck by the great anticipation
that is created. After Malachi, there had been no prophets in Israel. People
were eager to hear the words of a prophet, to witness God working in Israel.
St. Luke thus presents an eager and expectant community and only to such a
community this announcement becomes meaningful.
It
is quite significant that the report of the birth of John the Baptist is
mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke. Thus it is actually a Gospel in
miniature. It is the gospel in which the role of Mary and Elizabeth is
magnified. When we read the text, we come across two characters namely
Zechariah and Elizabeth. The name Zechariah means ‘God has remembered’ and the
name Elizabeth means ‘My God has promised’. Both of them belonged to the
priestly families. Zechariah, belonged to the order of Abhijah. Elizabeth being
the daughter of a priest married a priest and fulfils her duty.
It is mentioned that, they both were blameless
and righteous. This indicates that they fully participated in the covenant. But
at the same time they did not have any children. Elizabeth was barren. They
both were very old. In Israel, children were considered to be heritage from
God. They carry on the name of the family. Birth of a child perpetuates the
covenant of God to the next generation. Hence barrenness was considered to be a
curse, a punishment from God and a disgrace.
The temple in
the read text presents an altogether different meaning. In The Old Testament, the
Temple was the centre of worship. The priests were divided into 24 divisions. Each
division entered the temple twice a year. This time out of all of them
Zechariah was chosen, to serve at the altar. The sacrifices were done on the
inner as well as the outer altar, two times a day. This was the highest moment
in Zechariah’s life. Many people were expectantly waiting outside. It is at
this moment that an Angel of the Lord appeared. God’s intervention is
experienced. The sacred ceremony was brought to an end by this Intervention
The
conversation between Zechariah and the Angel is quite important. Initially,
Zechariah was afraid. Then the angel encourages him. The Angel says that the
prayers of Zechariah had been heard. Even though Zechariah had been praying for
a child for a long time, he actually was not hoping for a child, day by day the
hopes had reduced. And it was to such a Zechariah that the angel convinced that
his prayers had been heard.
When God
blesses, he blesses in surplus. Not only is a son given, but a forerunner to
the Messiah is also given. The son is to be named ‘John’ which means ‘God has
favour on us’. Joy and praise to God is presented throughout the Gospel. It is
the ordinary people who are enjoying God’s intervention. John was a miracle. He
was filled with Holy Spirit. He was to be a Nazarite, drink no wine, no
intoxication. The Divine power was active in him. The announcement meant that
it was the dawn of the Messianic period.
It was this
child who was going to turn the people to God and call the children to parents.
Turning people to God means conversion. Zechariah asks how can it be true? The
Angel replies, “I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God”. This statement
clearly indicates the fact that God is directly intervening. Zechariah, who was
worried that he will die without a son is now preparing for an important
mission. It is the mission which will fulfil the expectation of the community
who is standing outside expectantly.
The mighty King
Herod was not the centre of God’s plan, but this devoted old couple. The old,
the poor and the humble are chosen, they are never insignificant or overlooked.
The story teaches us to keep our trust in God and keep expecting from him with
Joy. Our eyes need to be open to what God has done and what God is doing. Even
the Faithful may grow dull after sometime. There are times of waiting and times
where our waiting will come to an end. It is God who sets times and years. He
is also the one who decides when the καιρος (kairos-qualitative time) will
come, i.e. when his time to intervene comes.