Speak more with your silence!

Luke 1:5-25

My story begins with a Jewish priest, Zacharias, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zacharias was a member of the Abijah division of the Temple service corps. (His wife, Elizabeth, was, like himself, a member of the priest tribe of the Jews, a descendant of Aaron.) Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God’s laws in spirit as well as in letter. But they had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and now they were both very old. One day as Zacharias was going about his work in the Temple—for his division was on duty that week—the honor fell to him by lot to enter the inner sanctuary and burn incense before the Lord. Meanwhile, a great crowd stood outside in the Temple court, praying as they always did during that part of the service when the incense was being burned.


Zacharias was in the sanctuary when suddenly an angel appeared, standing to the right of the altar of incense! Zacharias was startled and terrified. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias! For I have come to tell you that God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. You will both have great joy and gladness at his birth, and many will rejoice with you. For he will be one of the Lord’s great men. He must never touch wine or hard liquor—and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from before his birth! And he will persuade many a Jew to turn to the Lord his God. He will be a man of rugged spirit and power like Elijah, the prophet of old; and he will precede the coming of the Messiah, preparing the people for his arrival. He will soften adult hearts to become like little children’s, and will change disobedient minds to the wisdom of faith.” Zacharias said to the angel, “But this is impossible! I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.” Meanwhile the crowds outside were waiting for Zacharias to appear and wondered why he was taking so long. When he finally came out, he couldn’t speak to them, and they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple. He stayed on at the Temple for the remaining days of his Temple duties and then returned home. Soon afterwards Elizabeth his wife became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.


“How kind the Lord is,” she exclaimed, “to take away my disgrace of having no children!”


Food for thought!


Zachariah, a priest, had married a woman of priestly descent. The gospel says that the two, “Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God’s laws in spirit as well as in letter. But they had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and now they were both very old. ” Two holy people, righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations, and yet, UNABLE TO HAVE A CHILD OF THEIR OWN.


This fact says a lot. It means that bad things can happen to good people; even God fearing people like this couple, can be barren. Only God knows why this happens; only God knows when the right time for us to be blessed. It has nothing to do with sins; it is not that Zachariah and Elizabeth were sinners; on the contrary, they were two holy people.


Despite their situation, the couple served the Lord. Zachariah never stopped going to the Temple. Sometimes we give up too soon, too easily. Just because we are not getting what we think we should get, or because we are being what we think we should be. One thing stands out: it was in God’s house that God’s message came to Zacharias. So, don't stop going to the Lord. Yes, the message of the Lord comes to those who know how to listen; who know how to wait on the Lord.

We do well to learn to listen in quite places; opportunity sometimes knock very softly (Mother Theresa). Our prayers are strong when we are silent; when there is peace of mind, there is inner strength which is unfailing. Someone once said that in all of our Christian life we’re prepared to hear God speak to us, but nothing prepares us for His silence. In other words, many of us are ready to listen to the Word of God but not ready to listen to the Silence of the God. Like Zacharias we sometimes do well to keep our mouth shut.


Did you know that our mind is most efficient only when it is cool, not hot. In a heated state of mind, emotions take over, which may prove costly; power comes from quietness. God’s silence is an opportunity for us to enter into the silence of our own. It is our invitation to shift our relationship from one that demands words to an intimate relationship where no
words are necessary.

Remember that the less you speak, the more you are heard!