Media for the Spirit
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Sufficient Faith
Luke 1:57-79
Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her. It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father. His mother answered, "Not so; but he will be called John."
They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John."
They all marveled. His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, "What then will this child be?" The hand of the Lord was with him. His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy towards our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace."
World English Bible
Earlier in chapter one of Luke we read why Zacharias could not talk until his child was born. God through the angel
Gabriel announced that the older couple Zacharias and Elizabeth would have a very special male child, but Zacharias couldn't accept that
news. Whether it was cynicism, a lack of faith, or an absence of self-esteem, Zacharias argued with Gabriel that this wonderful
blessing could not be happening to him, so as a sign of the wonder that was to come, Zacharias could not talk until the child was born.
These earlier verses tell us that crowds of people witnessed in awe that Zacharias was suddenly mute, and that Zacharias eagerly
gestured and pantomimed as best he could so that they would know what had happened. By the time of this passage, many months
had passed, and it seems to me that those living near Zacharias would have known of his visit with Gabriel and the important message
the angel sent. However, the passage records that the well-wishers coming to celebrate the birth of Elizabeth's baby were so clueless
that they thought Zacharias could not hear, when all Gabriel did was stop him from speaking. They knew of the miracles God had
done, but chose to respond as if this was a normal baby born to a normal couple in normal circumstances. I envision Zacharias grabbing
the tablet in frustration and scrawling in as large a letters as would fit, "HIS NAME IS JOHN!" The people must have been stunned that
Zacharias could talk again, but they still might not have understood what had happened.
Even in the beautiful prophesy from Zacharias, we sense more Old Testament theology than we do the indications of the
Lamb of God that would come. Zacharias is eager for God to save Israel from her enemies, and offers this miraculous verse as
evidence that God had not forgotten the descendants of Abraham. He did understand that importance of salvation and righteousness
that would come from the Messiah, but it doesn't seem that Zacharias could conceive of a Savior for the entire world.
God's plan was not impaired because of any of these misunderstandings. Even though Zacharias' faith was weak, even though the
neighbors treated Zacharias' story of the angel as a curious tale, and even though Zacharias didn't understand the true purpose of
his boy, John the Baptist was still born. Even later in the gospel accounts, we read where John the Baptist, imprisoned and facing
death, sent his friends to ask if Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
There's an interesting mystery dealing with our faith and God's power. Jesus taught us that it is our faith, not our righteousness,
that allows God to act in our lives, and we can recall the faith Jesus recognized with miracles in a Roman centurion in
Capernaum and a Canaanite woman near Tyre and Sidon. We know the Gospels instruct us to have faith like that of a child, and
to do that, we have to accept in ourselves the frailty, ignorance, and dependence that is the nature of being a child.
It isn't just that God acts in spite of our ignorance and unworthiness, although it is thrilling to know that God is not hindered
by my failings and shortcomings. God acts when we embrace our weaknesses and reach out in faith.
We are not required to have a mature, strong faith that discerns and affirms an angel message after praying for a child for decades with no results.
We are not required to comprehend the deeper meanings of the story our neighbor, the priest, explains to us about why he cannot
speak until his son is born.
We are not required to understand the theology of God's Son, putting aside His heavenly self and taking on the form of a human to
offer Himself as the only perfect sacrifice for our sins. We do not have to understand how His death and His resurrection brought
to us the gift of salvation.
God does not need anything from us but our humble faith. As we reach to God, God steps down from Heaven to us to embrace us in Love.