The Advent story that I feel the most drawn to this year is Zechariah. He is the husband of Elizabeth, who is the mother of John the Baptist and the cousin of Mary the mother of Jesus. When most people think of Advent characters they think of Mary, Gabriel, or Joseph. Even Elizabeth and John the Baptist have roles in recognizing the new life promised in Mary and Jesus. I am drawn to this arguably tertiary character in the Advent story as his story seems like my own in a way and an invitation to delve into the harder things I am experiencing in my life.
He is an old man of the priestly caste of Israel and the Gospel of Luke comment that he and his wife were righteous in the eyes of God as they observed all God’s commandments. For the Jewish people, observing these laws were a part of what made them Jewish because they created a framework for their relationship to God. He even gets the honor of entering the Holy of Holies, which is the most sacred part of the Temple where God is believed to reside. One priest enters once a year to burn sacred incense and offer prayers to God.
Even though Zechariah has many points of distinction, one thing weighs upon him. He and his wife in all their long marriage have not been able to have a child and now they are old and it seems impossible. Such a thing was seen by people of that time to be a curse or punishment for sin. But while Zechariah was in the Holy of Holies the angel Gabriel appears to him and tells him that his wife Elizabeth will bear a child even in her old age and he shall be named John. Zechariah speaks in disbelief, questioning how such a thing is possible and in response. His reaction on paper does not seem much different than Mary’s questioning of Gabriel, but he receives a wildly different response.
The angel makes him mute and proclaims that he shall remain so until his son is born. That seems kind of harsh. And what was so different about his response and Mary’s? Did his response come more from a place of doubt and Mary’s from just not knowing? And during those nine months of silence what did he think about? Did he rankle at his need to rely on other people more because he could not speak? Or did he grow in appreciation for others because of their help and grow in his compassion because all he could do now was listen? Did he cry out to God indignantly, listing all the good he had done in his life and wondering why he was being treated so? Or did he regret his doubt and remember his imperfection? Did he rejoice at his wife’s pregnancy and consider this loss of speech as little compared to this great gift of new life? Or did he grow to resent her pregnancy because of what he lost and that he seemed less of a man because he needed God’s help? Did he question God as to why He waited so long to grant their prayers or did he find solace in Gabriel’s promise that his son was meant for something great? Did he come to see his muteness as a blessing or a curse? Was his experience a mixture of all of these things? Both and, not either or?
I am not sure what Zechariah’s journey in silence, in waiting, in weakness, in listening was like. The scriptures only give us the starting and the ending point. At the beginning he doubts and at the end he sing’s a canticle of God’s praise for His mercy, faithfulness and tender love as the first words from his mouth. I have definitely started where Zechariah was and hope to end where he does. Right now I am on the journey into Advent, into silence and waiting and weakness and listening, none of which I like or find easy but I know can be paths to new life.
by Paul Kim
