by Fr. John Mckinnon

Gospel: Luke 1:5-25 - John's Birth Foretold

5 At the time that Herod was king of Judea,
there was a priest from the roster group of Abijah named Zechariah.
His wife was a descendant of Aaron.
Her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous people in the sight of God,
living their lives blamelessly
according to all the commandments and directives of the Lord.
7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was sterile
and both were well advanced in age.

Luke situated the event during the reign of Herod the Great, king of Judea. In this first chapter the focus was exclusively on Israel. Luke underlined the righteousness of Zechariah and Elizabeth, as well as their explicit observance of the Torah. They were an embodiment of faithful Israel.

Luke began his narrative differently from Mark, who began rather with the message of the adult John the Baptist. Luke went back in time. He still began the Gospel with a focus on the Baptist, but on his conception and birth rather than on his mission and message.

Luke's Infancy Narratives

Luke's Intentions. Was Luke's intention to give a summary of remembered incidents surrounding the births of John and Jesus? Or did he rather intend to compose something like an "overture" that would give hints of the themes that would be developed during the public life and death of Jesus? If that were his intention, was his construction the work of his own imagination, or did it have some, even if tenuous, connection with actual events?

Dangers. To read the narrative in a literalistic way runs certain risks. It can be a lazy approach. It can leave readers focused on the "surface", interested in no more than the details of the story. The rich symbolism intended by the author remains largely unexplored and its meaning for the life of the reader untouched.

A sense of magic that leads nowhere could replace openness to mystery. Whatever about the story's appeal to the child, it could leave the adult uncertain. In resisting a response of naive credulity, the temptation could arise for adult readers to lose faith in the Word of God.

Luke was writing eighty to ninety years after the birth of Jesus. If memories still lingered, their details would have become indistinct. With a few exceptions Luke's account of the events surrounding Jesus' birth was quite different from that painted by Matthew.

Agreements. Serious scholars consider that the Infancy Narratives are largely the creations of their authors. With all their differences, however, both Luke and Matthew share these basic points:

• Jesus was born in Bethlehem
• He was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in the year 4 BC
• He lived in Nazareth before he began his public ministry
• His mother, Mary, was betrothed to Joseph but unmarried at the time of Jesus' conception.

So, if Luke was not writing history as would be understood today, what is to be made of his story? Seeing it largely as Luke's own creation frees the reader to explore the rich symbolism embedded in the narrative, and to stand in silent contemplation before the mystery.

It was customary in the secular Greco-Roman culture of the time (and even indeed in the religious culture of Israel) to emphasize the importance of certain historical figures by recounting marvelous stories about their birth and early years. In a culture ruled by considerations of "honour", it was an accepted way of giving due and expected praise to significant and powerful figures. People did not necessarily believe the details, but it was important that they be said.

Infertility

Luke emphasized that the mother of the Baptist was sterile. With the inadequate physiological knowledge of the time, it was the woman who was considered infertile. People believed that the male seed contained all that was necessary for the development of the child. No one knew of the female's ovum or that it was as important as the male's sperm. What the woman's body provided was the seed-bed and nourishment for the developing seed. If the seed had been sown but no growth occurred, it was the fault of the woman.

In claiming that Elizabeth was sterile, the story took up a familiar theme in the Jewish scriptures. Other important men had been born, through the direct intervention of God, to infertile women: to Sarah, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac; to the unnamed wife of Manoah, mother of Samson; to Hannah, wife of Elkanah and mother of Samuel.

8 While he was fulfilling his priestly role before God
when it was the turn of his roster group,
9 in line with the priestly custom, he was selected by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense.
10 At the time of the incense rite,
the whole assembly of people was outside praying.

The action line of the Gospel began in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple and Jerusalem both loomed large in the symbolic mindset of Luke. They symbolized the heart of Judaism – the place of encounter for Jews and their God. At the time of Luke's writing the Gospel, both had been destroyed.

11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him
standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 When he saw this, Zechariah was deeply disturbed,
and a deep fear settled on him.
13 But the angel said to him,

"Zechariah, have no fear.
Your prayer has been heard;
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.
You shall call his name John.
14 This will be occasion for joy and great gladness for you,
and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.
He will never drink wine or intoxicating drink.
And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit
from his time in the womb of his mother.
16 He will turn many of the children of Israel
back to the Lord their God.
17 He will go before him
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of parents to their children,
and to convert the hearts of the disobedient
to the wisdom of the just,
and to prepare for the Lord a people ready for him."

When Luke introduced an angel into his narrative, he was effectively telling the reader that the information to be given was beyond human observation or knowledge. This was the realm of mystery.

In essence, the child that Zechariah and his wife were to conceive would be conceived through the power of God. The child would be an ascetic, filled with the Spirit of God. He would fulfill the role cast for Elijah by the prophet Malachi five centuries earlier who had written:

Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah
before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
[Malachi 4:5]

His citation of Malachi made clear that God was about to intervene in human history in a new and definitive way.

The expectation of a return of Elijah was based on the story in the Book of Kings that recounted how, rather than dying, Elijah had been taken up to heaven on a chariot of fire and whirlwind:

As they (Elijah and Elisha) continued walking and talking,
a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them,
and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.
(2 Kings 2:11)

John would be the one to prepare Israel for the awaited coming of God.

18 Zechariah then said to the angel,
"How am I to be sure of this?
I am an old man
and my wife is well advanced in age?"
19 In reply the angel said,
"I am Gabriel who stands before God.
I have been sent to tell you this
and to bring you the good news.
20 But look! You will be dumb and unable to speak
until the time when all this happens,
because you did not believe my message,
which will however be fulfilled at the appropriate time."

Zechariah belonged to the Jewish priestly caste. It would be the Chief Priests (who were quite socially and financially distinct from the ordinary village-based priests) who would eventually secure the death of Jesus. By having Zechariah question the angel, Luke hinted at the instinctive caution of the priesthood, the official custodians of the religious structures and culture, towards newness.

Gabriel had figured in the Book of Daniel where he fulfilled the role of a messenger explaining the meaning of history and God's ultimate interventions (Daniel 8:15ff; 9:21ff). His appearance to Zechariah underlined the significance of the events that were about to follow and the beginning of the new and last period of the history of human salvation.

In the honour code of the era, the response of Gabriel would be expected. His honesty had been questioned by an inferior. The inferior deserved punishment. After Jesus came on stage, he would challenge that honour system and open the world to the graciousness of God.

21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah,
and were wondering about the time he was taking in the sanctuary.
22 When he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesticulating to them,
and remained dumb.
23 When his period of service finished, he went back home.
24 Some time afterwards, his wife Elizabeth conceived.
She hid herself for five months, saying,
25 "This is how the Lord has acted on my behalf,
looking favorably on me at this time
and taking from me my disgrace in people's eyes."

In framing Elizabeth's response to her conceiving, Luke borrowed the reaction of Rachel, the formerly childless wife of Jacob:

Then God remembered Rachel,
and God heeded her and opened her womb.
She conceived and bore a son,
and said, "God has taken away my reproach".
(Gen 30:22-23)

This story happened about 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, Israel. The Jewish people had a big building something like a church that was called the Temple. God had said that all the men who were descendants of Moses' brother, Aaron, were supposed to work at the Temple doing various jobs. They were called priests. One of their jobs was to burn incense, something that smelled very nice, in an inner room of the Temple, called "the holy place."

There were so many descendants of Aaron at the time of this story that they took turns doing the various jobs. It just happened that Zechariah was chosen to be the one to burn incense inside the Temple, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. He was probably really excited to go in the Temple into a special room that few people ever got to see! Imagine how shocked he was when an angel named Gabriel suddenly appeared before him! Have you ever been scared in your own house when you suddenly saw a family member whom you didn't know was in the same room with you? Think of how you'd feel if it was someone you didn't recognize. What if it was someone who looked like an angel? No wonder Zechariah was "overwhelmed with fear" (Luke 1:12).

The angel told Zechariah some amazing news: In answer to his prayer, his elderly wife would have a special baby. Zechariah's son would be a great prophet and preacher, and by the Holy Spirit's power, he would persuade many people in Israel to quit sinning. That way, they would be prepared for another very special person who was about to come: God in the form of a man!

Zechariah didn't believe what he heard because he thought he and his wife were too old to have a baby. They were as old or older than your grandparents! But nothing is too hard for God, and Zechariah should have believed what he heard. It was an angel who spoke to him, and that angel had just come from heaven to deliver the message from God.

God was a little bit angry with Zechariah's unbelief, so He took away Zechariah's ability to talk for about nine months! God expects us to believe what He says because He never lies. A lesson we can learn from Zechariah is that it is better to say nothing at all than to say something that disagrees with what God has said. God is always right in what He says.

Q. We learned today that many of the Israelite fathers weren't very good fathers, but when they heard John's preaching they repented and started to really show their kids that they loved them. What is the most important thing your father or mother could do to show you how much they love you?

A. Teach you about God and the Bible! (So you must have good parents!)

Q. When do you think Zechariah prayed to have a son?

A. Probably many years before when he was a younger man, since he didn't believe it was possible for his wife to have a baby even after hearing the angel's message. Our prayers are not always answered as soon as we'd like.

Application: God's Word is always true, so we should never say anything that contradicts what God has said.