Year 1, Day 210: Luke 1

Long Chapters

Okay, there are a few chapters in the New Testament that I am not going to be able to talk about everything.  Luke has a number of them.  This is one of them.  I’m only going to pick a few small examples and lift them up for consideration.

Zechariah

First, I love the fact that Zechariah can’t speak until John is born.  I know it is written about as a consequence of doubt, but I think God is happy to use it.  Think about it.  Had Zechariah been able to speak, he could have talked about his vision for a long time before the baby is born.  He could have proclaimed God’s greatness leading up until the baby’s birth.  But this way, he can’t!

Now, hopefully you stopped and reread that last paragraph because it seems to be saying that I am celebrating that the proclamation of God’s name is interrupted.  That is just not typical Christian thought.  But in this specific case, it is awesome that Zechariah can do no proclamation until the baby is born.

Why is this awesome?  It really is pretty simple once you get the hang of it.  I’m not actually celebrating that God’s name isn’t being praised.  What I am celebrating is that God took it upon Himself to praise His own name.  Zechariah can’t talk about the vision until his speech is freed after the baby is born.  But in the midst of his silence, amazing things happen.  Mary gets pregnant.  Mary visits Elizabeth and unusual things occur.  God takes it upon himself to bring glory to Himself.  Had Zechariah been able to speak, the way would have been paved through his ability to speak and the supernatural would have had a much more natural feel.

So in the end it is still a punishment.  Zechariah is unable to give praise to God and as you suspect, in the end it is still a negative consequence.  But what is really cool is that God doesn’t allow Zechariah’s blunder with respect to his faith to interfere with the glorifying of His name.  That’s the really cool part of this story.  God’s name is praised whether we can open our mouths or not.

The People of God’s Choosing

Second, I am going to lift up the players in the story.  Mary: a teenage virgin.  Joseph: an older and wiser carpenter.  Zechariah: a priest – but a priest fairly down on the list of important priests in the land.  Elizabeth: a woman bearing shame because so far she has been unable to conceive with a child in spite of her husband’s good graces of being “a priest.” 

What an unlikely bunch of characters!  There are no rulers here.  There are no big name tribal clan leaders.  There is nobody with any great wealth, social position, or worldly acclaim.  When God brings the culmination of His plan of salvation into the world, it is a most humble beginning.  There is no fanfare.  There is no great prosperity.  There is just a few easily overlooked people in the greater scheme of the world.

God’s remnant always looks a bit strange until we look at it in hindsight.  The people God picks are often people we wouldn’t pick. 

• They often seem ill equipped – even if we look forward into the selection of Jesus’ own disciples. 
• They often seem of the wrong social class.  Jesus picks fishermen and  tax-collectors?  Come on, God … right?  Sure, a Pharisee might have made sense … but why pick the Pharisee after the Christians have split from the Jews?  And why pick a Pharisee and send him off into the Gentiles?  In his case, Paul is actually more of a stumbling block in the very beginning than a help! 
• Sometimes they aren’t even the “right” – or should I say “expected” – gender.  After all, it is Mary Magdalene who gets to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection to the eleven! 

But look at how God used them all.  God starts with a virgin, a carpenter, an elderly - seemingly barren - woman and a fairly insignificant priest.  Out of these four comes both the last prophet who is chosen to testify to the coming of the New Covenant as well as God’s only Son.

Wow.

God is so cool in hindsight.  Who’da thunk it?  {Yes, I know.  Horrible grammar.}

Grace to Mary

Third, let’s briefly talk about Mary.  Gabriel comes to her and literally says, “Grace, blessed one, the Lord is with you!”  It is God’s grace, not Mary’s character, which brings this selection to Mary.  No, I’m not trying to slander her.  Mary clearly found grace with God.  So I’m not really trying to slander Mary at all.  But it is God’s grace rather than Mary’s character that brings this upon her.  So it is with any of us.  We are graced with salvation.  We are graced with the Holy Spirit.  We are graced with the fellowship of the saints.  We are the recipients upon a tremendous amount of grace.

Mary’s Stay

Let’s also talk briefly about Mary’s stay with Elizabeth.  I think God is doing several things here.  First, I think God is giving Mary some validation.  Up until now it was just Mary and Joseph and God’s plan.  Now here comes Elizabeth to validate what God is doing within her.  Elizabeth adds another layer of peace upon the strangeness of God’s plan.

Second, notice that Mary stays with her for three months.  Elizabeth was already six months pregnant.  Essentially, this is telling us that Mary came to sit at Elizabeth’s feet and learn what it is like to give birth and begin to raise a child.  What an incredible analogy to discipleship!  Here is Mary coming and voluntarily learning from someone who can teach her what she needs to know.  Mary can not only get “taught” about how to carry a child and give birth; Mary will be able to see it firsthand!  How neat is it to realize that even Jesus’ conception and birth was a moment for discipleship!

I think that’s a pretty good place to leave us in order to ponder the birth of Jesus as told in the story for tomorrow.  God’s Peace.

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