Good Morning friends,
This morning’s thoughts really have my mind swirling. I noticed something in a passage in Luke that I never noticed before and (admittingly) although it’s probably not the best way to “apply a passage of Scripture”, Spirit spoke to me very pointedly.
Much love and more ☕️,
Glenn || PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE
After 9 months of silence, Zachariah finally speaks.
9 months earlier (while in the Temple) an angel appeared to him and let him know that his aging wife would soon bear him a child. He couldn't believe it, he was shocked and so rather than express joy and faith, he expressed doubt and uncertainty. As a result, the angel told him that he wouldn't be able to speak until the child was born 9 months later.
Zachariah was a member of the upper class, which is important for us to note (more on that in a moment). He was a "priest" and his wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of the High Priest Aaron ... and so they were both members of an elite or prominent class of Jewish people.
Anyways.
So Zachariah went silent for 9 months and then when John was born he was able to open his mouth and give us what in church history has become known as "Zachariah's Song" or the "Benedictus".
I was dwelling on this song this morning and noticed something that I never saw before. It's a small thing and maybe not largely significant, but even so it stirred something in my Spirit (... or maybe it was just the coffee, not sure).
Here's a little bit of it ...
"Blessed be the Lord of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and has redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of David, as he spoke through the mouths of the holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days."
... The song goes on from there, but the "oath to Abraham" stuck out to me this morning because that oath (or that promise), if you remember, was that God would make Abraham into a great nation, a nation that would be a blessing to ALL the nations of the world.
In other words, Zachariah ...
The Priest.
The upper class.
The elite.
... was seeing that a time was coming where the promise to Abraham was on the verge of coming to fruition, that the gates were about to be open so that ALL people and ALL nations, whether they be ...
Poor.
Outcast.
Shunned.
Shamed.
Different.
... everyone was about to have a seat at the table through the birth of the Savior; and his son (John), Zachariah goes on to say, would prepare the way for it all to happen, "and you child (John) will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.".
This is probably really poor "exegesis" and I'm sure a theology geek out there somewhere is rolling their eyes. I don't really care though because this struck me this morning - Zachariah was a man of power, a man of upper class elite-ness and yet as a man of power the first thing he did after 9 months of silence was use his voice to speak of a time that was coming, a time when everyone - even the lowest of the low - would have space at the Divine's grand table.
You and me are people of power.
If you are reading this it means that you have a smartphone, computer, or tablet and so right off that bat that puts you lightyears ahead of lots of other people on the planet.
Me?
I'm white.
I'm straight.
I'm a male.
... and so let's face the facts, here: that combo gives me immense power. My skin is a privileged color, my sexuality is more accepted by society, and my gender is one that not only receives privilege, but also opportunities, favor, and an elevated voice.
This morning I'm wondering how I (as a person of power) am using my voice and I'm wondering what it would look like for me to open my mouth and use my voice to (like Zachariah) paint a picture of a world where everyone is invited to the table.
This.
THIS.
Needs to be the core focus of how I use my voice - to pick up the broken pieces of my shattered and deconstructed faith and vocally and loudly reconstruct something that looks like halfway decent Good News, Good News that is literally for ...
ALL people.
Of ALL nations.
Of ALL tribes.
Of ALL backgrounds.
Of ALL religions.
I want to be someone who uses my power to make the table bigger, to make the table wider, to clear room for more ... for those that the world, the church, society, etc. has tossed to the side and deemed to lack value and importance.
I want to use my words to make space for them and to challenge (sometimes loudly and harshly) anyone who dares attempt to make them sit somewhere else.
AND.
I also want to know when to shut up and let someone else speak. That's important too, right? Because Zachariah (the man of power) was silent for 9 months while Elizabeth, Mary, and others went right on talking. God shut the mouth of a powerful man so that the less powerful could use their voices.
And so just as I pray that I will use my voice to make bigger tables and to challenge those who want to shrink them, so I also pray that God will shut me up from time to time so that those who we make room for at the table can have their space and their chance to talk.
Lots to think about today.