Sermon by Herman Kauffman
Turkey Creek
December 9, 2001
I Stand in the Presence of God
Luke 1:5-20
Luke 1
5 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.
6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God,
observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
Background
Zechariah, the central character in this scene, was a priest - in fact, every direct descendant of Aaron was automatically a priest. Unlike today where we find a shortage of pastors, in those days there were far too many priests. They were therefore divided into groups and, except for several religious holidays, each group served only two one-week periods per year. Priests who loved their work looked forward to that week of service.
Wlliam Barclay tells us (1) that a priest might marry only a woman of absolutely pure Jewish lineage and thus we are given information of Elizabeth's direct lineage to Aaron as well. But in Zechariah and Elizabeth's life there was a tragedy. They were childless. To fully understand the impact of that statement you need to know that there were 7 categories of people who could be excommunicated and the list began, "A Jew who has no wife, or a Jew who has a wife and who has no child." Childlessness was a valid ground for divorce.
With that background, let us now proceed into the story.
8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,
to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
You understand, don't you, the fear that gripped Zechariah? It's not just the angel. O to be sure, most of us would be startled by the visible presence of an angel in our place of worship. Imagine yourself, coming into this sanctuary alone at night and having an angel suddenly appear in front of you. It's not that we don't believe in angels ... it just that we never expect to see one.
Here it is, Zechariah's special day, his turn on duty as priest in the temple ... and to add to his joy, he is selected to enter the inner court to burn the incense - a rare privilege. Here in the holiest of holies, alone with God and no doubt very much in prayer for his own personal situation, the angelic messenger appears to Zechariah. He is startled and gripped with fear. What has he done wrong? Is he to be punished? Will he be excommunicated from God? What does this mean?
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.
Why is it that we so often anticipate that the news will be bad? We wait for the results of medical tests, and when the doctor enters the room, we assume the worst.
But for Zechariah the news was good! Alone at the altar in the inner court of the Temple, Zechariah receives the Good News: His prayer has been heard! He and Elizabeth will have a son!
But wait. You've heard the saying, If it sounds too good to be true....
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."
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."
What does it mean to question God's Good News? Has God ever intervened in your life with Good News that you were a little slow to believe? Have you, like doubting Thomas ever demanded proof before you will believe the Good News?
"How can I be sure of this?" asks Zechariah. "I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." [Note: Even Zechariah knew better than to call Elizabeth an "old woman."]
I love the answer that comes from the angel, Gabriel, "I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news." O that each one of us could speak those words, wherever we are, whomever we are with. I stand in the presence of God... We do you know. We come into this place of worship and, like Zechariah, we are in the presence of God. We enter a neighbor's home, and there also we stand in the presence of God. We stand at the hospital bedside of a friend, and again we stand in the presence of God. We come together to discuss the future of the church, and together we stand in the presence of God.
But it may be the words that follow that are the more difficult for us: I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. Too often we find it hard to speak God's Good News to those who need to hear it.
Zechariah hears the Good News. His prayers have been answered - new life will come to he and Elizabeth. But it is so hard to believe! And Zechariah questions, "How can this be for I am old."
And what is the consequence of Zechariah's questioning God's Good News?
Is Zechariah banned from the presence of God? No.
Is his service as a priest taken from him? No.
Is the promise of a yet-unborn son withdrawn? No.
"Now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens,
because you did not believe my words..."
I love it! God will bring to Zechariah a time of silence until the time his son is born and he is again able to believe.
Silence. It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to most of us. We could all use a bit more silence in our lives.
Today is Ponder Day at Turkey Creek ...or at least that is what Robert Fulghum would call it. Fulgham, in his book It Was On Fire When I Got In, writes:
I've thought about that word ever since I came across it in the story of the birth of Jesus. "Mary pondered all these things in her heart" is what the Scriptures say. When you think about what the phrase "all these things" refers to, it's no wonder she pondered. Here's a teenage kid who has just had a baby in the back stall of a barn....Her husband is muttering about taxes...there's all this traffic of visiting astrologers, sheep ranchers, and angels, who keep dropping by with questions and proclamations and chorales. ... It certainly would give a person something to do some heavy thinking about. I'd say "ponder" is the perfect word for what Mary was doing.
It is in that spirit that I invite us this morning to do some pondering about the church and its future.After we sing together #128, I invite the acolytes to come and lead with the Light of God's Presence into the other room where we will do some pondering together. As we move, I am going to ask to process in a most unusual manner. I am asking that those who have been at Turkey Creek the longest to lead the way. Perhaps there are those who have been here 70 years - you lead the way, followed by those who have been here for 60 or 50 or 40 years. I'll come last. In some cases, I suspect couples and family members will not leave together. Some of you have not been here as long as your spouse and that's ok. It may be interesting for all of us to be aware of those who have been here at Turkey Creek a longer or shorter time than we ourselves.
Let us sing #128.
1. William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, Daily Study Bible Series, pp.9-11