FULL MEASURE 2021 ADVENT CELEBRATION DAY 10 December 7, 2021
MODERATOR: Pastor jen Cumberbatch
Welcome Friends to The Full Measure’s 2021 Celebration of Advent
ADVENT CELEBRATION DAY 10, December 7, 2021
SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:67-79
READER: Ashley Brusenhan
THEME: PEACE
CANDLES: Light 2 purple candles for each reading The HOPE Candle from Week 1 and The PEACE candle from Day 8-Day 15.
Scripture: Luke 1:67-79
Luke 1:67-79
Zechariah’s Song
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn[c] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
And the child grew and became strong in spirit…
Reading
Wow, what a birth announcement! We learned in the previous Advent Readings of this week that the prophet Malachi prophesied, the birth of John the Baptist, the son of the priest, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who was also a descendent of the priestly, Levitical line of Aaron. The Bible says of this couple, Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But, they were childless, and they were both very old.
So, after 400 years of silence, God spoke to a priest. God had chastised the priest of Malachi’s time for their disrespect, corruption and inauthenticity. In this passage Gabriel announces to Zachariah that Elizabeth will conceive and give birth to a son. And, the son will be named John, not Zachariah, Jr. And John, will be the front-man the, forerunner to God’s Christ.
So, God interrupts Zachariah,, while he executes his priestly duty and calls him by name. Zachariah in the Hebrew language is translated “the Lord recalls, or the Lord remembers.” So, as the people are praying and Zachariah is pouring the incense, representing their prayers, on the altar, Gabriel is saying to Zachariah, that the Lord remembers.
The Lord remembers what?
The Lord remembers Zachariah’s prayer for a child that he and Elizabeth can raise to glorify and honor God, recalling Malachi’s case against the priests of old.
4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
In the scripture passage today we see that God remembers God’s promise of the Coming of the 1st and 2nd messenger, and God remembers Zachariah’s prayers. Though it might have seemed to Zachariah and Elizabeth that serving God by remaining faithful to each other in marriage, though years of loving and love-making had produced no heir, God remembered God’s promises to God’s people.
God’s promises are yes, and amen, let it be so. The zeal of the Lord would accomplish this seemingly impossible task. John, whose name means graced or favored by God, would be born and would be the messenger to herald the Coming, the Arrival, the Advent of God’s Christ.
Yet, even with the wonderful prophetic announcement, from the angel, Gabriel, who stands at the right hand of God Almighty, Zachariah falls victim to the flaw of his predecessors, the priests of Malachi’s time, whose lips uttered untruths about God. Zachariah questions God’s ability to honor God’s promises.
So, God shuts a mouth, until John’s birth. Upon John’s birth, Zachariah, now wholly submitted to God’s will, has experienced the efficacy of his personal, Holy Spirit-inspired, fervent prayers. Zachariah knows how these kinds of prayers intersect with the purposes of God on a grand scale. And God opens Zachariah’s mouth and Zachariah speaks. The mouth of the priest utters glory and honor to God for all to hear.
Beloved, God hears your prayers. God has heard even your prayers that have not yet been manifested. God is marking them, remembering them and the zeal of the Lord will bring your prayers to pass.
The effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous produce. Prayers have a benefit and advantage. Our prayers bring forth fruit. Remember, God remembers.
And your God-inspired longings, formed in prayer, just like the prayer of Zachariah and Elizabeth, are God giving birth to God’s purposes, and plans, through you.
Don’t stop praying!
Don’t stop believing that the zeal of the Lord will accomplish it.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Prayer
God, thank you for Jesus, who through his salvific work allows us to go into your presence. Thank you that our prayers are a sweet aroma to you. Thank you, that you delight in fellowshipping with us as we talk to you. Thank you, that you hear and answer our prayers, according to your will. Thank you, that prayer we may see unanswered you will answer in generations to come. Thank you, God, for your covenant of grace that gives us transformational prayer, that lives and keeps us in peace when all around us is in turmoil.
Thank you, God, for hearing and remembering our petitions to you. Amen!