2022 11 27 Sermon

Prayers Answered and Unanswered

The Message of John the Baptist

Advent sermon series, week 1

Based on the book Prepare the Way for the Lord by Adam Hamilton

Luke 1:5-25; Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 122

Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

Happy New Year! Advent has begun—the first season of a new church year, the time when our focus is on preparing for the coming of Christ. Our preparation goes in two directions. One, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, which happened 2,000 years ago. Two, looking toward the future, the day when Christ will come again. There is a famous verse about this, which we didn’t read today, but maybe you’ve heard it, from Matthew 24, where Jesus says to the disciples, “about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father…Therefore you must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Since we can’t get in a time machine to take us back 2,000 years; and since we cannot know the time when Christ will return; maybe the best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is by becoming more aware of however God chooses to be present with us today!

Today we are beginning a 4-part sermon series on the Message of John the Baptist, who was the prophet God sent to “prepare the way for the Lord”. John’s story begins with his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, whom we heard about in today’s gospel. In some ways it seems logical, even predictable, that God would choose them to be the parents of John. Zechariah was a priest. Elizabeth grew up in a priestly family. Both of them were “righteous before God, living blamelessly according to the Lord’s commandments.” But then we learn some things that would have been quite unexpected to the people who lived back then.

Luke’s gospel tells us that they had no children because Elizabeth was “barren”. In those days, being unable to have children was believed to be a sign of God’s punishment. Of course, people then had no idea of the many biological factors that could cause infertility. Even so, the gospel makes the point that (contrary to what people believed), being unable to have children is not a reflection of your faith or your love for God or God’s love for you.

Then we learn that they were “getting on in years”—they were an older couple. In contrast to today, in the ancient world everyone was simply expected to have children. It was basically their social security program. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been married for decades. How many of those years had they spent praying to have a child, only to have their prayers remain unfulfilled? And since they had long passed the age of childbearing, how many years had they simply stopped praying for a child, and moved on? Through these details, Luke’s gospel is letting us know that God always hears our prayers. We may not get the answer, results, or timeline that we’re hoping for—but God does hear you!

Next, we learn that Zechariah heard that he and Elizabeth would become parents from an angel of the Lord who appeared in the sanctuary of the Temple. This may seem like an obvious place for Zechariah to get this news, but meeting an angel was not something he expected. Only a few priests per day were even permitted to enter the sanctuary of the Temple, and they were chosen by lot. Furthermore, there were thousands of priests, all divided into groups. Each group of priests only had about two weeks per year when they were assigned to the Temple. For Zechariah to even get the chance to be at the Temple, let alone enter the sanctuary, was a rare occurrence, maybe even just once in a lifetime. Getting a message from an angel while he was there was not something he planned on or expected. This explains why Zechariah was “terrified and overcome with fear” when he saw the angel.

Have you ever had a time of worship or prayer, or reflection or meditation, when you simply felt overcome with a strong emotion? Like you could sense the presence of God, or a feeling of holiness washing over you? If or when you experience that, it’s not the kind of thing that you can plan on. It comes unexpectedly. It may never come again, and if it does it may come in a totally different way. But, as was the case with Zechariah, that brush with God’s holiness might be something that leaves a mark and stays with you for life.

Finally, we learn about Zechariah’s doubts. If you have had a prayer answered, have you ever not quite believed it when it was actually fulfilled? Well, this was the reaction of Zechariah. Now that the prayers he and Elizabeth had made to have a child were finally being fulfilled, he doubts it: “How can I know this will happen?” he replied to the angel. “I’m an old man. My wife’s getting on in years.” Because of his lack of trust, the angel makes him unable to speak until the day John is born. This detail of the story shows us how, when a prayer is answered, sometimes it complicates your life! Sometimes you will have to struggle for a time, as Zechariah did in being unable to speak.

But those times of struggle just might be the times when God is blessing you the most—because it is a humbling experience; and as Zechariah would have found, when you are humbled you need to learn how to trust God, and how to trust the people closest to you, even more than you did before. A time of being humbled can be a great gift—if you approach it in faith with an open heart and mind; because God has a way of being able to take our difficulties and trials, and bringing something good out of them. What the good might be, we cannot know ahead of time. It will be unexpected. But after all is said and done, we can look back in hindsight and join Elizabeth in saying, “This is what the Lord has done for me, in this time!”

The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth raises all kind of questions about prayer, but it doesn’t provide many clear answers about how prayer works—other than to assure us that God hears all of our prayers; even long-ago prayers; prayers we may have forgotten about; prayers we may have stopped praying or hoping for. All of our prayers, however or whenever we have offered them, are remembered by God, and valued by God. That’s because prayer is not primarily about getting stuff, or seeing the results we want in the timeframe we want. Prayer is primarily about growing in your relationship with God—by inviting God to walk with you through the ups and downs of life, sharing with God your deepest hopes and dreams in honesty and humility, listening for the nudges God might be providing, and drawing strength and hope from God.

In your prayers Christ himself is present. Therefore, prayer is a great way to become more aware of what Jesus is doing among us today in unexpected ways, even as we wait for him to come again. Amen.