Birthing a New Advent 1: Your prayer is heard

Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard

 The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Lk 1:13.

We embark on our first Advent outing before Christmas. This series is to bring the Gospel stories into focus in regard to receiving the Presence of Christ in a new way this season.

We come to the narrative in Luke, who sees this as a preparatory scene to the Christmas story. We see this birthing as preparation to the major entry for the Messiah, for John was the forerunner to the Messiah, and Christmas is about the birthing into humanity of the Messiah, Saviour and Lord. Nothing is more important yet in other series I have done in the Christmas past we saw that the whole Christmas story is about 90 years as it unfolds.

This means we need to steer away from the instantaneous nature of what we desire to see as change in our circumstances. Christmas was a turning point for Israel and for many lives who were waiting for great spiritual changes. These spiritual changes took years to unfold. Changes in the human heart, families, congregations takes years faithfully waiting must take its course. Change starts suddenly, but takes time to achieve its objectives.

Zacarias was going about his routine as a priest. He was before the incense altar in the Temple. He is startled by the appearance of Gabriel the archangel. Surely as a priest in the Temple, angelic ministry must not have been strange. Surely manifestations of glory should have been commonplace. It seems not. Yet the first words were alluding to prayers that Zacarias and Elizabeth had been faithful at earlier in decades past. As the time for childbearing had past it was concluded that as natural processes and law made it that this prayer had no possibility of being fulfilled. They accepted the verdict of nature, and not in God’s power to perform. How much we do the same, in terms of what God can do, can only be according to our expectations and natural laws. We limit God by these attitudes. Hence we need to be aware that God will ask us to believe when all cries out it is impossible.

Birthing a New Advent brings to mind the things we believed for, we desired when we had spiritual vigor. When we become set in our thinking and ways, we give up waiting and trusting. God is coming to us, and the way He does, may startle our human routines. Whilst if we lived close to His presence we would be aware of angelic presences during the day. On this occasion, if we are “burning incense” in our prayers and worship, we may be aware that Gabriel has come to announce a birthing. It seems that for two times this was his task.

When God comes to birth Himself amongst His people expect angelic ministry and miracles. That which was forgotten is about to be remembered. It is God who never forgets. It is God who is faithful to revive that which died within our disappointments. Christmas must be celebrated for what it is, a birthing in our humanity bringing Goodwill to all men, which means that the silence that persisted for 4oo years is being replaced with heavenly joy because God is saving mankind.

Much prayer and many generations pass by, sometimes those prayers appear unanswered like that of Zacarias, but God has an appointed time to bring them to fruition. What is the “birthing” we have been looking for? God sends His angel to announce a impossible pregnancy and a joyful birth. Zacarias speaking over his son, knew exactly what God has destined this child to be, the forerunner to the Messiah. He saw way beyond the prophets that had come and gone. He saw into the Gentile inclusion, the saving of nations. This revelation came in his time when he was found in unbelief, when his ability to speak was curtailed for a time, so God showed him in his enforced silence what He was about to do.

The time for God to visit His people had come.

The time for answered prayer had come, no matter our condition. It is from wherever we are and however we are His birthing comes. He is doing something new to elevate us to envision Him return, the next advent. As we are studying His first advent there is a new advent to come. May we knowing He came, knowing that He will come again, may we be found available.

May the prayers we used to pray, come back in fulfilment before we pass to eternity.

May we embrace this new season!

Maranatha!