June 24th, 2020

Wednesday Words      Nativity of St. John the Baptist     6-24-20

Psalm 85       Isaiah 40: 1 – 11       Acts13: 4b – 26       Luke 1: 57 – 80  

If we were meeting in our church building today, we would be celebrating the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.  Born 6 months before Jesus was born to Mary, John came as the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah.  There are contrasts between the births of John and Jesus that hold lessons for us.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was a very young woman, probably 14 or 15 years old.  Tradition is that Joseph was much older than she, but we do not have that included in Scripture.  A second marriage, a second family was not unusual in these times as women often died in childbirth or broke their health with multiple pregnancies. 

Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, on the other hand, was an older woman who had never had a child even as she had so longed to be a mother.  In my fantasy, I like to think that Elizabeth was near Joseph’s age – that gives symmetry to the story that I like.  The Bible has stories of other women who did not bear a child even after years of marriage.  Sarah and Hannah and the Shunamite woman all come quickly to mind.  Not being able to bear a child was looked on as a curse, a disgrace, a deep sorrow for women.

John’s father Zechariah was one of the priests who served rotating terms in the Temple in Jerusalem.  God invaded Zechariah’s duties at the altar by sending the Angel Gabriel on a visit.  Gabriel told Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son and that they were to name him John.  This baby would grow up to be a powerful prophet as was Elijah before him.  We meet Elijah in the Hebrew Scriptures where he acts as prophet to the people, performing more miracles than anyone else in Scripture except Jesus himself. 

The Angel Gabriel is described as a warrior angel, powerful and fierce.  St. Luke tells us that Zechariah was terrified to see this Angel standing beside the Altar addressing him.  Small wonder that he expressed doubt about Gabriel’s message to him.  Because he doubted, the Angel made him unable to speak. 

Maybe it is once again my fantasy, but I do not see this muteness as a punishment.  I see it as a proof to bolster Zechariah’s confidence and faith, and to allow him to share this news privately with Elizabeth so that they could prepare themselves for what was to come.

God chose to send the Angel Gabriel to Mary also, telling her that she would bear the promised Messiah.  Mary was waiting out the long engagement period designed to prove that she was not pregnant by another man and that she was healthy enough to be a wife.  Mary had expectations of a life with Joseph that did not include being center stage in the drama of God’s salvation.  She received God’s plan with humility and with an open heart.  She became the Handmaid of the Lord, singing praises to God.

So here we have the 4 major characters and the 2 pregnancies as the beginning of our faith story.  One woman pregnant late in life, one pregnant before she should have been.  Elizabeth would have the comfort and support of her friends rejoicing with her that all her prayers had been answered.  Mary would have the local gossips speculating about a rushed marriage and a flight out of town, to bear her child alone in a barn.

Both mothers pouring love and lessons and tears into her beloved boy with both faith and fear.  Both mothers faced the sorrow and terror of a son’s death in cruelty and public shame. 

God’s grace and God’s plans for us do not need a particular age, or a special status.  God asks for a willing and faithful heart.  God calls young and old to the Kingdom’s work.  Are we willing to say yes?      

Amen.