Luke 1:8-17
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
If you haven’t already, read Luke’s introduction to Elizabeth and Zechariah (Luke 1:5-7) before you go on. Then read Luke 1:8-17 picturing the scene.
By the time Zechariah took his place as a priest of Israel there were thousands of other priests – so many that it was necessary to employ a lottery system to choose which would enter the “sanctuary of the Lord” to light the incense and offer prayers on behalf of the nation. This may well have been Zechariah’s first and only opportunity to enter the sanctuary and present the prayers of the people to God; and though God was silent, God was listening.
In the New Testament book of Revelation, John is shown a vision of a heaven with God seated on the throne holding a scroll that can only be opened by the “lamb that was slain.” Around the throne are multiple beings holding golden bowls of burning incense, and John recognizes the smoke from the incense as the “prayers of God’s people (Revelation 8:1-4).”
Get quiet and picture smoke rising from the incense Zechariah has just lit. As you inhale and exhale, imagine your own prayers rising to God like a fragrant offering. Stay with this image until you feel centered in the presence of God.
Read Luke 1:8-17 again trying to imagine what Zechariah is thinking and feeling.
We already noted that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were born during the 400-year silence of God, so to receive a message from God delivered by an angel must have been beyond shocking. As with other human-angelic encounters, the first words of Gabriel are, “Don’t be afraid…”
Zechariah would have known about the requirements for a person set apart for service to God (Numbers 6:1-4), and he would have recognized the prophecy about the forerunner of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6). But he couldn’t have ever dreamed that he and Elizabeth (who was well past childbearing age) would become the parents of this special child.
God seems to delight in surprises, and God often “shows up” in completely unexpected ways.
Return to silence and stillness for a moment and consider where in your life you need God to “show up.” What if God were to surprise you by showing up in an unexpected way? How would you react?
Speak openly with Jesus about this and listen for his response.
What is Jesus saying to you today?
What will you do about that?
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