Here we are; the beginning of a new church year and the season of Advent. You’ll recall from previous years that Advent is a season of preparation – a season of expectation – of the coming Christ. Remember that it is a dual mode preparation – a dual mode expectation. Not only do we prepare and expect for the coming Christ child born in a manger, but also a preparation time for preparing our hearts for the coming Christ – the King of kings, Lord of lords, and God of gods.
The series this year is built heavily on a CD that Pam and I purchased last year. We are going to look at the characters of Christmas – some of them are well known and others are not so well known. We want to go beyond all the traditional trappings of Advent and Christmas. One of the reasons that I liked this CD is that it is not your typical overproduced, Christmas, holly, sleigh bells, massive choirs and orchestra CD’s. Yes, there is a string section and a small choir, but it is stripped down and explores the characters of Christmas a bit differently. That’s why we are calling this series “Do You See What I See?” It’s going to be a little different take on our preparation.
One of the things that pleased me about this collection of songs is that right from the very beginning the song writer connects the dots between the Child in the manger and the Christ of the Cross. I love the line in that song you just heard, “And God on high, paying such a price, giving your life His bride.” We are the church – we are the bride of Christ. Christ came to give is life for us – He came to wash us and cleanse us and to sanctify us – to set us apart for His work. I think it is very appropriate that as the songwriter put these two elements together that we will be partaking of communion together. The baby Jesus – the child in the manger – becomes the Christ who gave Himself up for us – the Christ who died on the cross – the Christ who shed his blood for us – the Christ whose body was broken for us – the Christ who was buried – the Christ who was raised – the Christ who ascended into heaven – and the Christ who is coming back again for the very church that He gave his life for.
Todd Agnew, the writer of the songs that we will be exploring writes this introduction:
The peasants, shepherds and magi who crowded around the Christ child experienced his birth with awe, wonder and confusion. None of them had the benefit we have now-over two thousand years later-of knowing how the story ends. Instead, each character had only their small piece of the puzzle…and then the lifelong conundrum of trying to figure out who this Jesus is and how that moment in time would affect their lives for eternity.
We can see ourselves in their stories: the excitement, the joy, the pain, the fear, the surprise of God entering our lives. For these next weeks, you’re invited to look through the eyes of people just like you and me whose otherwise unbelievable encounters are captured in Scripture. See the Christmas story anew, not sitting beside our Christmas trees looking back, but staring into the chaos of a cold, dark world wondering what all of this means.
One of the things that we often forget is that there are two babies who are part of this story. There are two sets of parents involved in this story. Typically on the first Sunday of Advent, we are introduced to John the Baptist and today is no exception. We find the story of Elizabeth in Luke chapter 1 beginning at verse 5. We will be taking selected scriptures from this passage.
5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[b] 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,[c] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” …
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” …
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. 58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
65 Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.
Mom and Dad knew that this child was special. He had be given to them when they were very old, well beyond normal child-bearing years and they were told that their child would prepare the way of the Lord – and not only that – but he, himself would bring the chosen people to repentance and he would also be a prophet on the order of Elijah. These were huge shoes to fill.
I’m sure Elizabeth and Zechariah were like many parents, wanting the best for their children; they wanted to nurture and protect their child and yet even at his birth this child was the Lord’s.
John the Baptist and Jesus both had miraculous births; both would be mocked and ridiculed by their own people; both would have their lives rest in hands of Herod. Perhaps Elizabeth knew all of this and perhaps she didn’t, but one only has to look at the lives of the prophets of the past to know that the life of a prophet; one who declared the word of the Lord, was never an easy life.
This morning, imagine with me what it would be like, especially you who are mothers, to hold in your arms a baby whose destiny was linked to that of Jesus. Yes, Messiah is coming to save the world…Why do I have to give my child?
This morning I want to ask you, “To what are you holding on?” Is there something in your life that you are clinging to so desperately? Are you willing to give it away, like Elizabeth? As we prepare for communion this morning, Rhonda is coming to sing for us. What were Elizabeth’s thoughts as she held her little baby boy?
Song: Sleep Well
As we prepare for communion and as we begin this Advent celebration, what are you willing to give up to prepare the way of the Lord? As you participate in the receiving of communion, I want you to dedicate your life to preparing the way of the Lord during this season and to build God’s Kingdom. The world we live in today is a very dark world, just like that of the world at John the Baptist’s time. The world is in need of people who are the spitting image of Jesus to prepare the way.
