Welcome…
and, peace be with you. My name is Danny Bradfield. My pronouns are he/him/his. And I’m pastor here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church.
It’s hard to believe that we have arrived at the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday before Christmas. This time of year, and this week in particular, is filled with a lot of emotions. Many are excited that Christmas is almost here. Many of us are also stressed by this fact! There’s too much to do, and not enough time.
This is also a time when sadness and grief are present. We remember loved ones who have passed away and who are no longer physically present with us. We lament the brokenness of the world, and the brokenness of our own families.
Whatever emotions you bring with you to worship, please know that you are welcome. All of who you are is welcome. All your joy. All your sadness. All your anxiety. All your excitement. All your stress.
Whatever you are feeling, bring it with you. Bring it to God. The Christmas message is that God is present, that God is with us. And God embraces you just as you are.
Even if you have doubts: you are welcome in God’s presence.
And, at least for this time of worship, I give you permission to ignore the to-do lists in your mind - just set those lists aside - and just be present, as we worship God together.
Today and every day we worship, I invite you to participate in worship however you feel comfortable. To those of you I can see, here in our sanctuary, I encourage you to sit up front, but if the back is better for you, then that’s OK. And if the narthex, the entry area back there behind the glass, is where you feel most comfortable, that’s fine as well.
If you are joining us from home via the internet… well, we’ve been frustrated, and if you’ve tried to join us last week or the week before, it’s been frustrating for you as well. I hope you can hear me today. And I also invite you to participate however you feel comfortable, to whatever extent feels right for you. And maybe someday, when you’re able and ready, we’ll get to see you here in-person.
Later, we’ll take communion. Again, participate as you feel comfortable. We believe that communion is for everyone, but if you don’t feel ready or prepared to receive communion, that’s OK.
If you feel like singing, please: sing out - through your mask. I sometimes have to take my glasses off when I sing because they fog up.
If you don’t feel like singing, or can’t sing, let the voices around you sing for you, in the same way that others in our church will pray for you even when you can’t find the words to pray for yourself.
2. Entering the Holy Place
Today’s scripture is a humbling one for me to try and preach on. It really seems to me that I’m the least qualified person to preach on this particular scripture passage. Now, you may try to argue against this, but let me explain.
The scripture is about Zechariah. A fun fact about Zechariah: he is the first person in scripture to receive a direct message from God in over 400 years. And the last person to receive a message from God was also named Zechariah.
This particular Zechariah - the one we’re talking about today - was a priest. A clergyman. A respected religious leader.
And one of the highest honors for a Jewish priest in those days was to be chosen to enter the temple and offer incense. It was literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The priest enters the sacred part of the temple, offers the incense, then emerges to pronounce a blessing upon the people, a blessing that can be found in the book of Numbers, a blessing that goes: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
On a certain day about, oh, nine months before our scripture story begins, Zechariah was chosen. His number appeared, or his name was pulled out of the hat, and it was his day to enter into the holy place. The trumpets were blown, the drums were sounded, and the great doors to the holy place were opened.
Zechariah went into that holy place, and the people outside waited for him to reemerge... But he was taking too long… Strange… The people began to wonder: What was keeping Zechariah? Why hadn’t he come out?
3. You’re on Mute!
Finally, Zechariah emerged. He stared at the people, but said nothing. He did not pronounce the words of blessing.
And the people knew that something incredible had occurred, and they wondered what happened while Zechariah was in there.
What happened is that, while he was inside the holy place, an angel appeared to Zechariah, and informed him that he and his wife Elizabeth were going to be parents. The thing is, Zechariah and Elizabeth were old, and had long given up hoping for children. Zechariah blurted out, “No way!” and began arguing with the angel about whether or not this was possible.
So the angel just shut Zechariah up. The angel put Zechariah on mute. No more talking for you, Zech! Now, you need to listen for awhile!
And that period of forced silence continued through the start of the scripture reading we heard this morning.
Now, here’s the thing about Zechariah: he’s the only clergy person in this whole story, the story of Jesus’ birth. The only preacher. The only pastor. And he’s the first male to appear in this story, and the only male, really, to appear in this section of the story leading up to the birth of Jesus.
I mean, there is Joseph, but he’s just barely there, and he doesn’t say anything, not here in Luke’s gospel.
So the only male, and the only clergyperson in the story, is put on mute. He’s silenced, so that the voices of others can be heard - namely, the voices of the women.
And that is why I feel less than qualified to preach on this. At the very beginning of the story, in Luke’s gospel, men are silenced, the clergy is put on mute, so that the voices of the women can be heard, proclaiming the good news that is about to come to earth.
After that day: The angel visits Mary. Mary goes and visits Elizabeth. Elizabeth pronounces blessing upon Mary. Mary sings a song of praise to God, rejoicing in the good news that God is lifting up the lowly and casting down the rich and powerful, and giving thanks that God chose her to be the one through whom this good news would come into the world.
4. His Name is John
And then Elizabeth’s child is born; Zechariah still can’t speak, so when the people ask what the baby’s name will be, Elizabeth pronounces his name. “His name is John,” she says.
But the people dismiss her answer. They say to themselves, “That can’t be right.” They look to Zechariah, even though Zechariah can’t speak. Zechariah asks for a tablet and something to write with, and he writes down, “His name is John.”
In other words, “Listen to Elizabeth.” Listen to the woman. Her word, her authority, is as good as mine. Don’t dismiss or discount her proclamation just because she is a woman. God has silenced me for a reason. Listen to her!
Zechariah didn’t say all that, because he couldn’t; but I bet he was thinking it. And doesn’t that seem like the lesson to be learned, from a story in which the male authority figure is silenced so that the voices of the women can be heard?
And how is it that, 2,000 years later, there are still churches that are trying to silence women’s voices? I don’t get it.
And I don’t preach on this often, because I’ve always been a part of the Disciples of Christ church, which hasn’t been perfect, but certainly has been ahead of other branches of Christianity when it comes to listening to women’s voices.
But through social media as well as in real life, I’ve connected with people from other churches where women are to this day not allowed to be ordained, not allowed to preach, and not allowed to teach or exercise authority.
And you all know how crazy that is, so I guess I’m preaching to the choir…
But I’ve learned that there are so many voices that I need to listen to - women’s voices, certainly - but also other voices that have been silenced, voices that have something to teach, something to proclaim.
I’ve learned that when someone speaks from their experience of being oppressed, I need to listen, no matter how angry they may come across, no matter how accusatory they may sound. I need to listen.
For example:
When someone speaks about their experience of being Black in America, for example, or being Black in the church, I’ve learned that I need to listen. And I need to keep listening, even after they stop speaking. I need to ponder what they said, and consider the circumstances that led them to say it.
Or, when someone talks about the struggles of being transgender, I need to listen. I admit, at first, my mind is filled with assumptions, just like Zechariah’s mind was filled with assumptions when the angel delivered a message that Zechariah just found too hard to believe. But if I keep my mouth shut - if I stay on mute - then I start to learn how my assumptions are wrong.
In a first century world, where women’s voices were so often silenced, it really is remarkable that they appear front and center in Luke’s gospel, starting in chapter one. And it really is remarkable that the one male clergyperson is put on mute, to further amplify the voices of the women.
But finally, after listening to his wife Elizabeth, and after hearing Mary’s song and proclamation; after he affirms his wife’s proclamation concerning the naming of their son; Zechariah’s voice is returned to him.
And he sings his song of praise.
What amazing things Zechariah has seen and heard during his nine months on mute! How much he has learned! How much has his own faith grown and evolved!
5. Shhh…
There are a lot of voices all fighting to be heard - especially as we get close to Christmas. The loudest voices, the voices that drown out all those other voices, are often the ones we least need to hear.
To really hear God this Christmas, what we need to do is listen for the quiet voices, the voices that others try to silence, the cries that are heard only by God, because they are drowned out by others.
I’m reminded of the prophet Elijah, who sought out God’s voice… In 1 Kings, chapter 19, it says that “there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence…” and it was in that sheer silence that Elijah heard the voice of God.
There are a great many voices today that are strong and loud, as if they are trying to split mountains and break rocks into pieces… but we need to ask ourselves: is that really where God is?
The good news of Christmas is that God is present, that God is with us. But it may be that we are looking for God and listening for God in all the wrong places. Or maybe the sound of our own voice is keeping us from hearing or finding God.
Maybe what some of us need this Christmas is to spend just a little time on mute.
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