“The Tender Mercy of our God”
A Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Hilary J. Barrett
Preached at Pleasantville UCC, December 6, 2009
Luke 1:68-79; Luke 3:1-6, and Philippians 1:3-11

“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
(Luke 1:78-79)

The gospel writer, Luke, really knows how to tell a wonderful story.  It is from Luke that we receive our most familiar and most beautiful Nativity story – the one shared with the children this morning:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
 and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And it is from Luke that we are able to be present when Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel and receives the Annunciation that she will become the mother of God:

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary.

And it is from Luke that we hear Mary’s wondrous song of praise that she sings in response to this amazing news – a song known throughout the ages as The Magnificat, so named for the first words of the song which proclaim:

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

And it is from Luke that we hear the wondrous story of the Visitation, the remarkable encounter between Mary, who is pregnant with the Savior of the world, and her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.  Mary goes to visit her cousin.  Listen to what happens to Elizabeth when Mary arrives:

And it came to pass,
that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary,
the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said,
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Yes Luke knows how to tell a beautiful story, and were it not for his gospel, we would be so much the poorer.  But Luke also knows how to tell a funny story.  And this morning’s reading from Luke’s gospel is part of a larger narrative that is just a really good story.

Our text is called the Song or Canticle of Zechariah and it is one of three canticles in the opening chapters of this gospel.  In some traditions, this passage of scripture is known as The Benedictus.  The Benedictus was the song of thanksgiving uttered by Zechariah on the occasion of the birth of his son, John the Baptist.  But let’s listen to what happens before Zechariah sings this song of praise.

Read Luke 1:5-25.

It seems every time an angel shows up with good news from God, they begin with the words, “Do not be afraid.”  And in this case, fear is the least of Zechariah’s problems.  The main problem that Zechariah has is that, after receiving this great proclamation from Gabriel no less, his response is not, “Wow, that is so cool!”  But instead, something along the lines of: “Do you expect me to believe this?” (The Message).  And Gabriel must have had a long day because he is not pleased with Zechariah’s response:

“I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God.  It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!  
But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born.
For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” 
(New Living Translation).

Now, Zechariah is a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem.  His wife comes from a long and distinguished line of priests, tracing all the way back to Aaron who was the very first priest in the temple.  And the scriptures are full of stories about women who are not supposed to be able to conceive and bear a child but do: Sarah’s too old, and she gives birth to Isaac.  Hannah is barren, and she gives birth to the prophet Samuel.  Elizabeth is too old, and whether Zechariah knows it or no, she’s going to give birth to John the Baptist.  Mary is a virgin, and she gives to the Son of God.  The point being of course: with God, all things are possible.  The angel Gabriel brings good news to Zechariah and Zechariah’s response to doubt that this good news is anything that he can really believe in.

Part of the mastery of Luke’s gospel is his pacing.  He tells the story of Gabriel and Zechariah.  Then he tells the story of Gabriel and Mary – and we get to see a proper response to an angel of the Lord.  Then he goes on to tell the story if how Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth and how it’s obvious even to the babe in Elizabeth’s womb that something powerful is going on here.  And then Luke goes on to tell the rest of the story:

Read Luke 1:59-66.

Now, finally, Zechariah’s got it right: his response to the crowd who question’s his wife’s decision to name their child, John, is basically: “Whatever she said.”  And immediately his tongue is loosed and he is able to speak.  And the first thing he says after 9 months of silence is this: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel…”  I doubt if Zechariah ever doubted God, or his wife, again!

It’s a great story, with the kind of humor that the Bible is full of: “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God.” What more do you want?!  Zechariah’s a priest in the Temple of the Most High God, but when the angel of the Lord comes to bring him good news, he’s hard-pressed to believe it.  And that means that when we are filled with doubts, we are in good company.  If anyone should be open to the power and mystery of God it should be a priest, but Zechariah doubts.  And we get to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

We don’t hear anything about John again in Luke’s gospel until after the birth and childhood of Jesus and then, all of a sudden this:

“In the fifteen year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was rule of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”

Luke has been telling a great story, but then he hits us with the particulars and locates John’s ministry firmly within the context of history: Tiberius, Emperor of the known, civilized world; Pontius Pilate and Herod, rulers of the Jewish part of the world; Philip and Lysanius, rulers of the regions around Palestine; Annas and Caiaphas, the most powerful religious men in Israel.  That is to say that, in a certain specific time in a certain specific place, during the reign of a certain specific ruler when a certain specific empire dominated a region, the word of God came to John in the wilderness and he responded to it.  He responded to it and he called people to repentance.  He called them to prepare their hearts; to make straight the paths.  He told them to get serious about their faith -- to fill in the potholes and level the mountains of resistance in their lives.  And if they did that, the word of the Lord would be born in them and all flesh would see the salvation of God.

The story might just as easily have begun...During the first term of the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, when Rendell was Governor of Pennsylvania, and Geoffrey Black was President of the United Church of Christ.  The story might just as easily have begun this way because these are political and historical categories being described.  The reign of a Caesar, the rule of a governor, the authority of a tetrarch.  These are political and historical categories and it is into the context of politics and history that God did what God has always done -- God hears the cries of God's people, God enters into the midst of life as we know it, God comes to us enfleshed in the least of these, God comes to be With Us, Emmanuel.

So a story that begins in good humor, with an angel and a prophecy and a skeptical priest who’s given 9 months to think it over, becomes the story of a great prophet – John the Baptist, who goes before the Savior of the World.

This is a story for people who think they have a handle on what things can and cannot be.  This is a story for people who believe that common sense always trumps wonder. 

In addition to simply delighting us, the story of the John the Baptist invites us to consider a few things:

When are we like Zechariah?  When do we fall back on common sense as our default mentality rather than allowing ourselves to be drawn into the wonder that is God and God’s plan for our world?

When have we had our hearts chastened by God’s persistent working upon our lives?

And where do we see the good news being preached in this world, in our time?

John’ father, Zechariah, had trouble believing in the promises of God.  It can be hard to believe in God’s promises in a world where terror strikes fear into the hearts of men and women – in times of economic crisis, war, and acts of unexplainable violence.  Yet there is good news in the world, and people who are bringing it, preaching it, doing it, and preparing the way for it.  There are people who are ever responding to the invitation of God to be part of the wonder.

“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Wherever there is light breaking forth upon those who sit in darkness -- there, the good news is being preached.

Wherever comfort and hope is being offered to those who sit in the shadow of death – there, the good news is being preached.

Wherever God’s people find themselves guided into the way of peace, turning away from violence and greed and systems of oppression – there, the good news is being preached.

We are on our way to Bethlehem.  And on the way to Bethlehem we encounter John the Baptist and his story.  It is a story full of humor and beauty, a story we can relate to in its doubt and caution.  It is hard to give our hearts to wonder in a world that can be so intent upon killing anything that cannot be controlled.

But John’s story is also full of hope and promise.  The Word of the Lord came to John while he was in the wilderness.  It was a great Word.  A Word of promise: that all flesh would see the salvation of our God.  It was a Word of abundance, but it came to him in a place of hardship and scarcity: the desert; the wilderness; the wild place; the edge.  The Word of the Lord came to John and it brought a message of hard truth: that repentance is the first step in preparing the way of the Lord.  For people of faith, knowing this part of the story is so important as we journey from where we are to where we need to be.

If you are longing for more wonder if your life…

If you are living in the wilderness…

If you know your need for repentance and wait with eager longer for God to turn your heart and your life around…

If you are hungry to see God good news being lived out in the world…

then take heart, for your redemption is at hand!

Thanks be to God who gives us these Words of great truth, great power, great mystery, and great humor.  Amen.