Yearning for a baby
Before turning to the birth of Jesus, Luke, in his account, feels it’s important to provide some of the back story.
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Luke 1:5-7
Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people. Zechariah was a priest – one of the good priests. Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron, the very first priest anointed by God back at the time of the Exodus. More important than their roles or their heritage, Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people. Godly people. And yet they were childless. They had lived all their lives together with the pain and shame of infertility. Back then, no one chose not to have children. It was expected that every couple would conceive and raise a family. If you did not, you failed in your role in society. They were now old and must have given up hope that they would ever have a baby.
Today, some people choose not to have a baby. We should never assume that if a couple is childless, then they have been unable to conceive. And we should not pry. They do not have to explain themselves to us or justify their position. However, for many childless couples, the pain of infertility is a huge burden of suffering to bear. I had a glimpse of that many years ago when we struggled to conceive with our first child and got to the point of going to the doctor to have the tests to find out why. It was excruciating. My body was crying out to have a baby. This longing consumed all my thoughts. I wanted this above anything else. I would have given anything to fall pregnant. And that was just a glimpse. For some couples, this goes on for years and years. They do try everything. They give up everything to pay for expensive fertility treatments. And still nothing. There are no words to explain this agony, this yearning that is never satisfied. And again, we should never pry and judge – but we definitely should show sensitivity when we talk about our kids (or even worse, moan about them!) and pass round photos of our grandchildren…
For Zechariah and Elizabeth, there were no tests. There was no fertility treatment. They will have prayed and prayed to their God to take away this shame and pain and longing for a family. They will have been aware of the times God answered the heartfelt prayers of his people -when He granted Abraham and Sarah a child in their old age and gave Hannah a child after she wept and begged on the steps of the temple. There was a precedent for praying for a child. But there must have been many couples who did so and God must have seemed to have ignored their prayers. Many couples like Zechariah and Elizabeth.
And then one day, everything changed.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God…an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.’ Luke: 1:8, 11-13
The angel went on to explain that this son, John, would have a special role to play in God’s work on earth.
He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ Luke 1:14-17
Zechariah is a man of God. He knows all about God speaking directly to His people, about God sending His angels as messengers. And yet, when it happens to him, he struggles to believe it. When God is telling him what he has yearned to hear all of his married life, he wonders if it’s for real. He wonders if he’s making it up in his head. He scared to let himself believe it. He can’t believe that this is really God.
And there is a consequence to this disbelief.
I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time. Luke 1:19-20
Everyone waiting outside the holy place cannot understand why Zechariah has taken so long. And when he emerges, he cannot explain as he is struck dumb. Because of that, everyone knows something special has happened in there. An encounter with the one true God.
As for Elizabeth, she becomes pregnant and spends the first five months in seclusion.We aren’t told why. Maybe she’s just taking good care of herself and making sure that the pregnancy goes smoothly. She has time to reflect and come to terms with the reality of the baby growing inside of her. She hasn’t been told all that Zechariah knows about how special this baby is and the role he is destined to play. She doesn’t need to know. For her, this baby is the most special baby in the whole universe, the most special gift she could ever have imagined receiving. She knows this baby is a gift from God.
‘The Lord has done this for me,’ she said. ‘In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.’ Luke 1:25
I wonder how many times we have prayed and prayed for something and then when God has answered the prayer, we’ve struggled to believe that He has really given us what we want. We are so happy and yet part of us feels that we don’t deserve it. We struggle to relax into it. We hold ourselves back. We look for the catch. We doubt God’s provision. We sabotage our own happiness.
Our dreams come true. And we don’t know how to handle it.
We can learn from Elizabeth, by giving God the credit and recognition and gratitude that is due to Him. And then we trust. Trust that God knows what He is doing. Trust that God has a plan. Trust that God will protect us and provide for us on this new wonderfully exciting and yet totally scary adventure.
The Lord has done this for me.
The Lord has done this for me.
The Lord has done this for me.
Thanks be to God.
