Bible Study Notes: St Luke’s Gospel
Session 6 - Chapter 1 vv 57-80
When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore
a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her
with mercy, celebrated with her.
On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling
him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He
is to be called John." "But," they said, "no one in
your family is named that." They used sign language to ask Zachariah
what he wanted him named. Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His
name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed
surprise - Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was
talking, praising God! A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood,
and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else.
Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will
become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this." Then Zachariah
was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers, as he remembers to do what he said he'd do,
What he swore to our father Abraham - a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.
And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest"
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God's Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.
The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until
the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.
© The
Message
After the exciting story of the visitation of the angel to the temple and the shock of Elizabeth being pregnant at an advanced age we almost settle in to the story of the birth of John the Baptist.
Imagine what a stir this must have caused in the hill country, in the little village where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived. First the shame and humiliation of being barren and all that that inferred in Jewish society and now a complete reversal and this faithful elderly woman is having a baby. What is going on? What is Luke getting at here?
Well, remember firstly that he is a doctor and this story of the birth of John runs contradictory to medical science’s understanding of how things work. He is trying to demonstrate that nothing constrains God, our God, who is the God of creation, who set the world in motion can on occasions break through the laws of nature and do wondrous things.
Secondly, he is making the point that John is someone very special. I
was asked only on Sunday why we make such a fuss of John. And the answer
is? Absolutely! John is the bridge between the Old and the New covenants;
he is that voice of prophecy that Luke tells us had fallen silent. He
is the herald foretold in Isaiah and Micah.
It is John that is the wake-up call to the religious folk of the day.
And he rewards them as they come to be baptised, for repentance, by calling
them a brood of vipers, nice eh? So John’s position is established
then.
Elizabeth gives birth; it all seemed to have gone well and then on the eighth day, in accordance with the law the neighbours gather in joyful anticipation of his circumcision and naming ceremony.
Imagine the scene; rather like our many baptisms here; all the neighbours from the little village gather to watch what is about to take place, no doubt in their Sabbath best. Then something very surprising happens. The gathered assembly turn to Zechariah for confirmation that this lad is to have a good, noble family name.
It is said, though I do not know how true this is, that the tradition was that the father would chose the name and tell no one until the actual naming ceremony itself, then he would whisper it first to the baby and then announces it to the assembled company.
None of that here; as the ceremony is about to commence and the assembled company have presumed that the child is also to be called Zechariah, Elizabeth steps up and announces, in no uncertain terms, that he is to be called, John.
This did not satisfy the assembled crowd who did what custom and tradition demanded, they again ask Zechariah, this time providing him with writing utensils to ensure that Elizabeth has correctly understood Zechariah’s wishes in this matter.
So, the ceremony takes place, the child is circumcised in accordance with the demands of the law, the child is named and he is dedicated to God as was the custom. Birth is more than a physical event; it is a spiritual moment. Luke affirms this by noting that as soon as Zechariah’s tongue is loosened, the first thing he does is to bless God! His holy silence is replaced by a song of joy.
So we arrive at Luke’s next hymn, a hymn we know as…..? The Benedictus, which is recited every morning, here at Morning Prayer; a canticle of gratitude. The words disclose that his son will be a prophet who will herald the long expected Messiah and Saviour. God has already produced a horn of salvation from the house of David, the child that will be born of Mary. God has honoured the promise that he made to Abraham centuries before that He would ultimately rescue the world from the control of evil.
Since this is God’s love at work in the world, the fear that troubles people will be washed away in the confident news that love will cast out fear. The tender mercy of God will visit every person like the beauty of a sunrise. Jesus will be like the dawn for every person sitting in the darkness of sadness, loneliness and depression.
The mysterious event at the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah no doubt aroused awe and wonder in their neighbours. They would have discussed it ad nauseam. The meaning of the mystery requires faith to penetrate it and time to absorb it. It also required the unfolding of the lives of John and Jesus for its full revelation. Yet, even in those initial moments, the seed of faith began to grow as they said, one to another, “Surely God has His hand in this”.
I suspect that many people face this first chapter of St Luke’s Gospel with some bewilderment. Poetry? Yes. More likely we tend to think, fantasy and myth. What is one to make of it? We urban, technological-minded people see the world, I suspect, in terms of questions to be answered and problems to be solved. The tools for this are always reason and logic. Given enough time, our mental probing will answer the question and solve the problem.
St Luke’s narrative says that life is much more a mystery than we are accustomed to admit or accept. Someone once said, “Life is more a mystery to be reverenced than a problem to be solved”. Luke unabashedly and joyously flaunts the mystery of life and calls for faith in God that alone can penetrate it. A few faith-inspired parents in a remote ancient village grasp the importance of the most consequential birth in history. Mystery does not mystify them. It energises them. It brings them joy so strong that we still sing their words. We do not have to surrender the key of logic to enjoy this; we need only to accept the additional key of faith to glory in the sunrise of the Christ.
© Fr Michael Fuller: December 2007