13 But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid,
Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John. Luke 1:13
Week 1 of Advent focuses on hope. God fulfills prophecy, his promises to people, as seen in the Christmas story. The Christmas story is bigger than the babe in a manger in Bethlehem that we see in the crèches at this time. It is an event that impacted many lives, even ours. The Gospel of Luke tells us that there was an old couple that had lost hope of having children. They were old. The husband, Zechariah, a priest took his turn to serve at the temple and offer the sacrifice. Elizabeth, his wife, was also of priestly lineage but old and barren. Zechariah encounters an angel but Zechariah has his boundaries, his definitions of what God can and perhaps hasn’t done. God has not given them a child, case closed. He is living responsibly with his plight in life. But sometimes God pushes the envelope and challenges us to see God’s hand working outside our expectations, our boundaries and definitions of how reality works. The angel told Zechariah that he and Elizabeth were to become parents.
Sometimes we become hardened in how we think God can and wants to work. We stop looking for his unseen hand working in the world impacting us. Advent is a time full of stories about God’s work in the unexpected areas of lives. Zechariah and Elizabeth have a baby. Mary becomes pregnant without sex. Joseph has a dream that changes the direction of his life. Wisemen from the East somehow know about prophecies. A star?
Advent encourages us to look for God’s hand working in ways beyond our expectations. We can hope and pray when we are discouraged because there is a God journeying with us and fighting for us. That is a very hopeful thought. May we look for his hand working in unseen ways encouraging us to look beyond our normal envelopes of definition today. God hears prayer. God gives life even to old people. God gives hope.
On the Way to Wonder 