"Praise, Prophesy, and Promise" - Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68 - 79
A Sermon by Alex Evans, Pastor
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA
Sunday, December 5, 2021 - Second Advent
Texts: Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79
“Praise, Prophecy, and Promise”
Is God real?
Can God be trusted?
These are sincere questions that emerge sometimes from our hearts. As often as we gather in this sacred and beautiful place, and link our lives with all those who have lived the faith, . . . when we are honest, we all have doubts and questions.
Is God real? Can God be trusted? Those questions emerge for me in recent days. We are fatigued by the pandemic, and especially new variants that threaten to keep us covered up with caution and fear for the foreseeable future. We keep having school shootings where our kids are dying. Those questions emerge when we have loved ones, and church members, struggling with sad circumstances, or lingering problems, or new diagnoses. Those questions worry us as we think about climate change and a world where democracy . . . and equal rights, . . . and equal justice for all seem to be in peril.
Is God real? Can God be trusted?
Those questions emerge even as we light another candle on the Advent Wreath, and sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and gather again today around the Lord’s table.
And those questions, truly, have also always been part of the journey for people of faith. Doubt and faith, questions and confidence in God go together. The most devoted and righteous people wonder these things.
At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, we meet Elizabeth and Zechariah. Zechariah is a priest and Elizabeth is his wife. This is what it says: “both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren and both were getting on in years” (Luke 1:6-7).
Wow. Both of them were “righteous, living blamelessly.”
But I would venture this: they had their doubts and questions for God. It is only human. And look, they lived in a culture where the birth of children was a sure sign of blessing and status, and for almost all of their years, they could not have children, which certainly created questions, doubts, even despair.
Is God real? Can God be trusted? Those are expected questions when heartache, disappointment, confusion, sadness, despair become part of your life.
Events unfold rapidly in the verses of Luke 1. Once when Zechariah the priest was serving in the temple, he had a visitation from an angel who said what angels say: “do not be afraid.” Then the angel told him his prayers had been answered - his wife Elizabeth would bear a son. Zechariah could not believe this! Yet, his name would be John, and that many would rejoice in his birth. This is the same angel, by the way, that we meet again in the Christmas story, the angel who appears to Mary and says, “Greetings favored one, do not be afraid; you have found favor with God.” Mary would bear a son too; his name would be Jesus.”
Is God real? Can God be trusted? These questions keep coming up!
Our text today comes later in chapter 1. Elizabeth gives birth to a son. He is named John, as the angel declared. And everyone asks, “What will become of this child?” (John) and we have Zechariah’s answer - verses 68-79 - listen:
68 ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Today’s sermon title - which did not make the bulletin - is “Praise, Prophecy, and Promise.” And really, it is another attempt to answer those burning and pervasive questions - is God real? Can we trust God?
Zechariah has not had it easy. Yet in these moments, soon after his son John is born, he launches into a Hymn of Praise. God is not only real, the priest affirms. God has appeared in their lives with power and purpose. God has come to bless the people and redeem them. And this is not just a personal visitation, an experience of God in his life with Elizabeth. This God who has come, who blesses, is at work to redeem all the people. “He has raised up a mighty savior for us, . . . that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”
And Zechariah goes on - further and broader - God “has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath he swore . . . to Abraham, . . that we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”
This is another of the many affirmations - when we doubt God’s presence or reality, when we get discouraged about what God might do, when we feel certain that God has forgotten us. We remember these words: Blessed be the Lord our God.” God looks favorably upon God’s people. God redeems them. God rescues us from the hands of our enemies. God’s steadfast love is forever.
This message gets repeated and reiterated over and over throughout holy scripture. This message speaks to our sincere and often desperate questions about God - is God real? Can God be trusted? God looks favorably upon his people. God redeems. God remembers his holy covenant. God’s ways prevail. God rules forever.
This is especially important for us to hear in these days - and whenever life gets discouraging, overly burdensome.
Our own Hannah Garrity, who is one of the founders of “Sanctified Art,” and who also designed these awesome Advent banners, did a painting this season - from this passage. It is a drawing of Zechariah holding his son, the infant John. Hannah shares about the painting that Zechariah had to get out of the way - so that God’s promises and God’s plans could take central place.
Isn’t that often the case for us? We do not trust God’s plans and presence; we cannot see God’s steadfast faithfulness, because we are so caught up in our thoughts, our plans, our frustrations and losses. We too often become blind to God’s presence. We have to step back - let God become and remain central - and then we realize the truth - God is real; God is at work; God never lets us go. God is always bigger than our biggest worry. God is always stronger than our threatening problems. We belong to God. The whole world belongs to God.
Then this passage moves from praise and affirmation to prophecy and promise.
Zechariah, whispering into his baby, John’s ear, says, “And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.”
Friend and Bible commentator, John Carroll, who teaches at UPSem, says this about these verses: the salvation that God is bringing to the people through John and his eventual ministry is both salvation from and salvation for. God rescues us from enemies who hate us and, with the resulting freedom from fear of enemies, we are liberated to serve God faithfully. (See J. Carroll, Luke, p. 59)
This is always the salvation that God offers - from all that burdens us, holds us captive, constrains and discourages us; but salvation is also always for one thing - we are saved to serve God, to bear God’s light, to promote God’s justice, to spread God’s hope, especially to the most vulnerable and victimized. John - who is not the Lord - will go before the Lord, prepare the way of the Lord. He will baptize for the forgiveness of sins, and then point all the people in the ways of loving and serving following Jesus - toward justice and peace.
And then verses 78-79 may be some of the most beautiful of all Scripture. As John, the prophet, the preparer of God’s ways, the baptizer, lives into his calling, it says this:
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break in 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.
By the tender mercy of God, . . . breaking in, . . . to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.
Is God real? Can God be trusted? Here is prophecy and promise that is not only beautiful, this message, this promise feels so life-giving and hopeful!
Zechariah affirms that John and Jesus will bring about all that we long for and all that we most need - and we all need to hear this -
- God does not forget us, but looks favorably upon us;
- No matter our lostness, our desperation, God redeems us;
- We will be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
- By the tender mercy of God, the dawn from on high will break in;
- We will have light, especially in our darkness, in the shadow of death;
- Our feet will be guided in the way of peace.
Friends, if you are looking for the gospel today, this season, there it is.
We live in a mixed up and antagonistic world. We carry lots of hurts and hopes. But we are part of another vision, another story, another truth - God is real; God is to be trusted. This is Zechariah’s message. This is what we hold to. This is what shapes our lives. We belong to God. Our lives are about, like John, pointing to, working for, serving the promises and plans, the justice and joy of God that we see in Jesus.
May it be so. Amen
Prayer of Commitment - Holy God, to turn from you is to fall; to turn to you is to rise; to open our hearts and commit our lives toward the ways of Jesus, well, that is to abide forever. We seek that way. Amen
Alex W. Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on December 5, 2021. This is a rough manuscript.