Today, the Church
remembers the birth of John the Baptist [which also means that it is six months
till Christmas, cousin John being six months older than Jesus].
Zechariah
and Elizabeth have a son, and name him John. What’s in a name? Well, in the
Bible, quite a lot actually: names are important; they have meaning; and they
often have significance to the life-story of the person with the name.
For
example, ‘Zechariah’ means ‘Yahweh has remembered’. Specifically, Yahweh has
remembered his people. And it carries
a certain weight. ‘Yahweh has remembered’ is not ‘Yahweh had forgotten about us
but now he has remembered us’. It is the timely reminder, when we have been
waiting ages for God to move, ‘Despite appearances to the contrary, God has not
forgotten or abandoned us’.
Zechariah is married
to Elizabeth. ‘Elizabeth’ means ‘God’s oath’. That is, God’s covenant promise.
The promises God made, for example, to Abraham or to David. God stands by his
oath. But that oath is contractual: it invites Abraham and his descendants, and
David and his descendants, into faithful committed relationship with God. If
‘Zechariah’ is a reminder to the people that Yahweh has not forgotten them,
‘Elizabeth’ is a reminder to the people—every time someone called out her name—that
they should not forget God. That they shouldn’t look around for a better
god-offer when the honeymoon shine had worn off their love.
So,
Zechariah and Elizabeth both mean something. But there is more: biblically,
when a man and a woman marry, they become ‘one flesh’...so, Zechariah and
Elizabeth become ‘Yahweh has remembered his oath’. That is, ‘the time has come
for Yahweh to act on his oath to rescue his people’ who have once again found
themselves in need of rescuing and have once again found themselves calling out
to their god.
And
the result of Zechariah and Elizabeth becoming one flesh is John. And ‘John’
means ‘Yahweh is gracious’. So, when the time has come for Yahweh to act on his
oath to rescue his people, the result—that is, the action—is grace.
And
that grace looks like provision of a fresh start, in a renewed kingdom-of-God
with a renewed faithful king, Jesus, descendant of David. A fresh start,
symbolised by John in baptism, in an historical re-enactment of passing through
the Jordan into the land. But now the kingdom is not limited to Galilee and
Judea, and the reign of the king is not limited by death.
When
Paul is invited to bring a word of exhortation for the people—a word that urges
that we do something in response—he rehearses stories of Yahweh remembering his
people and acting on his oath. Stories of leading his people out of slavery in
Egypt, of acting to give to them the land he had promised to give to Abraham’s
descendants, of giving them judges to deliver them from the surrounding nations
who contested that land, of king David and God’s promise to king David. A story
that culminates in John the baptiser holding out grace, setting the scene for
Jesus.
And
to discover what happens next, you will have to read on in Acts. But the promise is that by Jesus everyone who believes is set
free from all those sins that hold us captive. From fear and greed and
everything that comes between us and loving God and loving our neighbour as
ourselves. You see, the name ‘Jesus’ means ‘Yahweh saves’.
Today, the Church remembers the birth of John the
Baptist. Today, we retell the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and John. Today,
we reaffirm that God has not forgotten us, even if some days it feels as if God
has forgotten us. Today, we celebrate God’s promises, and reaffirm our
commitment in response. Today, we rejoice at God’s grace, birthed in our midst,
much to our amazement, starting small and vulnerable and growing strong—grace
that is hidden away, perhaps for years, until in God’s time the day comes when
it appears publicly and has a wide impact.
A truth, carried in a story, we need to come
back to year by year. And where we find ourselves again today. And where are
you in the story? Elizabeth’s neighbours heard and rejoiced and came and
assumed that they knew the same-old story and challenged the new chapter and
enquired and found out and were amazed and a little bit afraid and gossiped the
news everywhere they went and pondered what would come of it all. Elizabeth
stood her ground, trusting God. Zechariah experienced freedom and used his
freedom to praise God. John grew and became strong in spirit, in the hidden and
even lonely place. And you, as a congregation? And you, personally? And me?
Where are we in the story, this time of hearing? Because it is a gift to us, a
means of God’s grace, to find us where we are and to draw us deeper into the
mystery of God.
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