Jeremiah 33:14-18; St Luke 1:1-25
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Dear people loved by God, St Luke the Evangelist addresses his Gospel account to one, Theophilus, a patron or benefactor, likely a Greek Christian convert, but he writes for you. St Luke was not an Apostle as St Matthew or St John. He was not an eyewitness to all the events he records. But having followed all things closely for some time he gathers the testimony of the eye-witnesses, he compiles their accounts, and hands them over to you that you may have certainty concerning the words by which you have been catechized.
Whether you are an infant in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ or mature in wisdom, St Luke proclaims this Gospel of forgiveness and life for you. That he is able to do this is solely and completely the gracious will and work of God the Holy Spirit, for the very purpose St Paul proclaims to the Ephesian Christians: So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:17-19).
As we set about for another year to gaze into the manger and so peer into the Mystery of the Word made Flesh, we will, through the catechetical preparation of St Luke, ponder and meditation upon those events which lead up to the Nativity of our Lord, celebrated at the Midnight Mass this coming Christmas Eve.
The first eye-witnesses to whom we are introduced are Zechariah, a Levitical priest serving the Temple of the Lord in the days of Herod, and his bride, Elizabeth, who is also of priestly lineage. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord. This is justification language! Zechariah and Elizabeth stand by faith in a right relationship with the Lord and so make their pilgrimage under His grace and countenance.
And so they stand in good company: with Noah and Abraham, whom Moses describes as righteous and complete, blameless. With Job, who is righteous and blameless. With David, who is blameless and righteous.
Yet in the psalm you sang, No one living is righteous before You (143:2). This is true. Neither you nor these men and women are righteous with a righteousness of your own. Rather with a righteousness imputed to them by faith in the Righteous One, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all the Old Testament points, and for whom all these faithful and just saints waited with eager longing and expectation, hoping beyond hope that every baby boy born from Israel could be the One, the promised Seed.
But Zechariah and Elizabeth had no child. And so, as it is under the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, they bear their reproach patiently. Their righteousness hidden from the religious world of Israel, even as yours is hidden from the world, and even at times, from yourself.
Now the time came for Zechariah to go before the Lord in His Temple and burn incense according to the tradition of the priests, for the lot fell on him. This was a high and holy privilege! Of the nearly 20,000 priests and Levites serving in Israel at the days of Herod, a mere 56 served in the Temple daily. That the lot fell on Zechariah was not luck, but divine providence. This was the work and will of the Lord.
For as he walked past the Altar and the Laver, behind the curtain into the Holy Place of this, now enlarged Second Temple constructed on this site first chosen by King David, Zechariah was troubled when an angel of the Lord appeared to him!
Imagine it, dear people. Entering into an enormous room, approximately 90 feet cubed - that’s 90 feet deep by 90 feet wide by 90 feet high - with no windows. Completely dark. The only light coming from the seven branched menorah to your left, which burns continuously. To your right a table with freshly baked bread. In front of you, about two-thirds of the way down, just before the Veil to the Most Holy Place, stands a small Altar, 18 inches deep by 18 inches wide by three feet high, entirely overlayed with gold. This is the Altar of Incense, upon which you are to offer the specially compounded spices and pure frankincense, seasoned with salt. This is the incense commanded by the Lord, pure and holy. Already this is a significant and terrifying moment. A once in a lifetime occurrence.
But then, standing on the right side of the Altar of Incense, an angel of the Lord! A holy and terrifying messenger of the Most High God. The very God whose presence dwelt in the First Temple constructed by Solomon on this very site! That Zechariah was troubled is an understatement! He was mortally afraid. As well he should be.
Are we not taught to fear God? Not merely to stand in holy awe of Him or solemn reverence at His glory. But true fear. Notice how many times the word dread is used in the hymn you just sang. God threatens to punish all who break His commandments. He is a jealous God. We should fear His wrath and not do anything against His Word. Thus the incense Zechariah was to offer was, as we offered tonight, a “repentant prayer” which ascends before the Lord; a plea that His loving kindness may descend on us with forgiveness and mercy.
Thus does the angel say to him, Do not fear. Your prayer has been heard. Nearly every time an angel appears in Holy Scripture, the first words out of his mouth are, Do not fear, precisely because we are afraid when confronted with such majestic power and terrifying strength.
But this angel, as with all the messengers of the Lord our God, is dispatched not only with the dread of our Lord, but with His mercy. Not only to strike terror into the heart of fallen man, but with a word of comfort and joy, of gladness and peace. For Elizabeth shall conceive in her old age. The Lord shall open her barren womb and give them a son, John, who shall go before the Lord’s Christ to prepare His way, turning many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God and the hearts of the fathers to their children. This is true joy, dear Christians! Joy at the inbreaking of the era of salvation, which begins with the Forerunner of the Messiah.
So it is that Gabriel reports the joy of many at the coming birth of John. Rejoice is the first word of his greeting to St Mary, the Mother of our Lord, which we shall hear later. This joy becomes great when the angel tells the shepherds of the Savior’s birth. Joy is the theme of the three parables in Luke 15 - the lost coin, the lost sheep, the lost son. And at the end of the Gospel the disciples return to the Temple with great joy praising God (24:52)! St Luke’s Gospel not only begins and ends in the Temple, but begins and ends with joy in the Temple because God’s salvation has come! The Lord is fulfilling His promise He made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah!
But Zechariah doesn't believe it. He cannot fathom how his dear bride, Elizabeth, in her advanced years, could possibly conceive. Okay Sarah or Hannah Truly with man such things as miraculous births, great catches of fish, the feeding of thousands with meager loaves, the raising of the dead, or even the “simple” bestowing of faith is impossible. Do you not confess, “I believe that I cannot believe?” That you believe the Good News at all is a wonderful and blessed miracle! For all things are possible with God who keeps His Word to cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David.
But Zechariah will be unable to speak a word. Not only on account of his unbelief, but because of the hiddenness of the Lord’s ways. As a marvelous catechist, St Luke continually shows how the relevant facts of salvation are kept hidden until God choses to reveal them.
Such is the case of the Transfiguration: they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen (Lk 9:36). And our Lord’s Passion predictions: they did not understand this saying and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it (Lk 9:45). Jesus even “hides” Himself from the two disciples on the Emmaus road until He opens their eyes and their minds to understand the Scriptures! (Lk 24:31). All things shall be fulfilled at their proper time, according to the word and will of the Lord. And so Elizabeth even remains hidden during her pregnancy. St Mary is the first to know of her blessed estate and see it as a sign of God’s visitation.
But a priest who cannot speak cannot fulfill his duty. The crowds who were awaiting his exit, would have ben shocked not to receive the benediction from Zechariah. Through signs and gestures they understood he saw a vision, but they could not receive his good word of Good News from the angel of the Lord.
This bene-diction, this good word, would have to wait until Christ Jesus Himself, the Temple, the Priest, the Sacrifice, and the Man who's sits on the Throne of David, should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and through the catechesis of everything written about Him in the Holy Scriptures, have forgiveness of sins proclaimed in His Name. And then, leading His disciples out to Bethany, lift up His own priestly hands in prayer, and bless them. And while blessing them, part from them and be carried up into heaven (Lk 24:44-53).
People loved by God, this is the catechetical purpose of the Gospel: the blessing withheld and hidden, then given and revealed. It is all about Jesus, the Messiah, whose birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension, are the content of all the Old Testament blessings. With Zechariah’s silence, his liturgical service in the temple is finished, indeed, all such service, is now obsolete in the Messiah, whose way John prepares.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Dear people loved by God, St Luke the Evangelist addresses his Gospel account to one, Theophilus, a patron or benefactor, likely a Greek Christian convert, but he writes for you. St Luke was not an Apostle as St Matthew or St John. He was not an eyewitness to all the events he records. But having followed all things closely for some time he gathers the testimony of the eye-witnesses, he compiles their accounts, and hands them over to you that you may have certainty concerning the words by which you have been catechized.
Whether you are an infant in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ or mature in wisdom, St Luke proclaims this Gospel of forgiveness and life for you. That he is able to do this is solely and completely the gracious will and work of God the Holy Spirit, for the very purpose St Paul proclaims to the Ephesian Christians: So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:17-19).
As we set about for another year to gaze into the manger and so peer into the Mystery of the Word made Flesh, we will, through the catechetical preparation of St Luke, ponder and meditation upon those events which lead up to the Nativity of our Lord, celebrated at the Midnight Mass this coming Christmas Eve.
The first eye-witnesses to whom we are introduced are Zechariah, a Levitical priest serving the Temple of the Lord in the days of Herod, and his bride, Elizabeth, who is also of priestly lineage. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord. This is justification language! Zechariah and Elizabeth stand by faith in a right relationship with the Lord and so make their pilgrimage under His grace and countenance.
And so they stand in good company: with Noah and Abraham, whom Moses describes as righteous and complete, blameless. With Job, who is righteous and blameless. With David, who is blameless and righteous.
Yet in the psalm you sang, No one living is righteous before You (143:2). This is true. Neither you nor these men and women are righteous with a righteousness of your own. Rather with a righteousness imputed to them by faith in the Righteous One, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all the Old Testament points, and for whom all these faithful and just saints waited with eager longing and expectation, hoping beyond hope that every baby boy born from Israel could be the One, the promised Seed.
But Zechariah and Elizabeth had no child. And so, as it is under the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, they bear their reproach patiently. Their righteousness hidden from the religious world of Israel, even as yours is hidden from the world, and even at times, from yourself.
Now the time came for Zechariah to go before the Lord in His Temple and burn incense according to the tradition of the priests, for the lot fell on him. This was a high and holy privilege! Of the nearly 20,000 priests and Levites serving in Israel at the days of Herod, a mere 56 served in the Temple daily. That the lot fell on Zechariah was not luck, but divine providence. This was the work and will of the Lord.
For as he walked past the Altar and the Laver, behind the curtain into the Holy Place of this, now enlarged Second Temple constructed on this site first chosen by King David, Zechariah was troubled when an angel of the Lord appeared to him!
Imagine it, dear people. Entering into an enormous room, approximately 90 feet cubed - that’s 90 feet deep by 90 feet wide by 90 feet high - with no windows. Completely dark. The only light coming from the seven branched menorah to your left, which burns continuously. To your right a table with freshly baked bread. In front of you, about two-thirds of the way down, just before the Veil to the Most Holy Place, stands a small Altar, 18 inches deep by 18 inches wide by three feet high, entirely overlayed with gold. This is the Altar of Incense, upon which you are to offer the specially compounded spices and pure frankincense, seasoned with salt. This is the incense commanded by the Lord, pure and holy. Already this is a significant and terrifying moment. A once in a lifetime occurrence.
But then, standing on the right side of the Altar of Incense, an angel of the Lord! A holy and terrifying messenger of the Most High God. The very God whose presence dwelt in the First Temple constructed by Solomon on this very site! That Zechariah was troubled is an understatement! He was mortally afraid. As well he should be.
Are we not taught to fear God? Not merely to stand in holy awe of Him or solemn reverence at His glory. But true fear. Notice how many times the word dread is used in the hymn you just sang. God threatens to punish all who break His commandments. He is a jealous God. We should fear His wrath and not do anything against His Word. Thus the incense Zechariah was to offer was, as we offered tonight, a “repentant prayer” which ascends before the Lord; a plea that His loving kindness may descend on us with forgiveness and mercy.
Thus does the angel say to him, Do not fear. Your prayer has been heard. Nearly every time an angel appears in Holy Scripture, the first words out of his mouth are, Do not fear, precisely because we are afraid when confronted with such majestic power and terrifying strength.
But this angel, as with all the messengers of the Lord our God, is dispatched not only with the dread of our Lord, but with His mercy. Not only to strike terror into the heart of fallen man, but with a word of comfort and joy, of gladness and peace. For Elizabeth shall conceive in her old age. The Lord shall open her barren womb and give them a son, John, who shall go before the Lord’s Christ to prepare His way, turning many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God and the hearts of the fathers to their children. This is true joy, dear Christians! Joy at the inbreaking of the era of salvation, which begins with the Forerunner of the Messiah.
So it is that Gabriel reports the joy of many at the coming birth of John. Rejoice is the first word of his greeting to St Mary, the Mother of our Lord, which we shall hear later. This joy becomes great when the angel tells the shepherds of the Savior’s birth. Joy is the theme of the three parables in Luke 15 - the lost coin, the lost sheep, the lost son. And at the end of the Gospel the disciples return to the Temple with great joy praising God (24:52)! St Luke’s Gospel not only begins and ends in the Temple, but begins and ends with joy in the Temple because God’s salvation has come! The Lord is fulfilling His promise He made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah!
But Zechariah doesn't believe it. He cannot fathom how his dear bride, Elizabeth, in her advanced years, could possibly conceive. Okay Sarah or Hannah Truly with man such things as miraculous births, great catches of fish, the feeding of thousands with meager loaves, the raising of the dead, or even the “simple” bestowing of faith is impossible. Do you not confess, “I believe that I cannot believe?” That you believe the Good News at all is a wonderful and blessed miracle! For all things are possible with God who keeps His Word to cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David.
But Zechariah will be unable to speak a word. Not only on account of his unbelief, but because of the hiddenness of the Lord’s ways. As a marvelous catechist, St Luke continually shows how the relevant facts of salvation are kept hidden until God choses to reveal them.
Such is the case of the Transfiguration: they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen (Lk 9:36). And our Lord’s Passion predictions: they did not understand this saying and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it (Lk 9:45). Jesus even “hides” Himself from the two disciples on the Emmaus road until He opens their eyes and their minds to understand the Scriptures! (Lk 24:31). All things shall be fulfilled at their proper time, according to the word and will of the Lord. And so Elizabeth even remains hidden during her pregnancy. St Mary is the first to know of her blessed estate and see it as a sign of God’s visitation.
But a priest who cannot speak cannot fulfill his duty. The crowds who were awaiting his exit, would have ben shocked not to receive the benediction from Zechariah. Through signs and gestures they understood he saw a vision, but they could not receive his good word of Good News from the angel of the Lord.
This bene-diction, this good word, would have to wait until Christ Jesus Himself, the Temple, the Priest, the Sacrifice, and the Man who's sits on the Throne of David, should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and through the catechesis of everything written about Him in the Holy Scriptures, have forgiveness of sins proclaimed in His Name. And then, leading His disciples out to Bethany, lift up His own priestly hands in prayer, and bless them. And while blessing them, part from them and be carried up into heaven (Lk 24:44-53).
People loved by God, this is the catechetical purpose of the Gospel: the blessing withheld and hidden, then given and revealed. It is all about Jesus, the Messiah, whose birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension, are the content of all the Old Testament blessings. With Zechariah’s silence, his liturgical service in the temple is finished, indeed, all such service, is now obsolete in the Messiah, whose way John prepares.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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