Luke 1:68-79    NT p. 54 or 1255

1:68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

1:69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,

1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

1:71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,

1:73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear,

1:75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

1:77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.

1:78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,

1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

INTRODUCTION:

This really is the season of the child, a season both for children and for the child in each of us. But as you know, sometimes children get it all wrong or at least mixed up, especially with the lyrics of Christmas Carols.

One little girl told her mother, "Olive wasn't very nice to Rudolf was she?" Quizzed about who Olive was, little girl explained, "Oh, you know. Olive... the other reindeer." (1)

Or how about the little girl I heard singing: "NO WAY in a manger." There are some people who still think like that. That God couldn't and wouldn't stoop so low as to become one of us.

Or three year old Jay who sang out: "In ex selfish day oh."

Or the little girl who instead of singing "with angelic host proclaim," sang "with the jelly toast they came." I guess she must have been hungry.

We all love Christmas Carols, don't we? What's your favorite Christmas Carol? (Get Responses)

Mine is "O Holy Night." I love the majesty of the music and the power of the message, especially the second phrase of the first verse: "Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt it's worth. A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." (Adolfe Adam)

The reason I've been talking so much about Christmas carols is that the passage we read could probably be listed as the first Christmas carol. Or if not a Christmas Carol, then at least and Advent Hymn sung by Zechariah, John the Baptist's father. Here's what happened to cause him to sing.

Our first reading this morning was from the Prophet Malachi and that's important because God had not spoken to the Israelites for 400 years, since the time of Malachi. Malachi was the last prophet. The people of Israel were starving for a word from God. That word was spoken to Zechariah, not that many people believed him but it was spoken to him.

Scripture tells us that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth (Mary's kinfolk), were "both righteous before God." But they had no children. Zechariah was a priest in the Temple. When his duty rotation came up, they drew straws to see who would remain in the Temple to burn incense while the rest of the priests along with all the other people bowed in prayer outside.

During that hour the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that Elizabeth would conceive in her old age and his son would be the one to prepare the people of Israel for the coming Messiah.

Somebody wrote that at this point Zechariah made two major mistakes. First, he brought up his wife's age. And you're never supposed to do that in public. And second, he questioned the angel of the Lord. "How do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man married to an old woman. How are we going to have babies?"

That's when Zechariah found out that you shouldn't question angels. It was the last question he was able to voice for about nine months. Because of his lack of faith, Gabriel made him silent until all he foretold came to pass. For nine months Zechariah had to communicate by signs or by writing on something. He remained mute until after his son was born.

On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise and name the boy, all the relatives were gathered around urging Elizabeth to name the child, Junior. Name him after his father. Elizabeth said his name would be John. And they argued that nobody had ever named their children John in their family. So they turned to Zechariah and asked him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote: "His name is John."

Zechariah knew the importance of names. Remember the Johnny Cash song, "A Boy Named Sue?" It closes with the singer saying that when he has a boy he's "going to name him Bill or George or Ted, anything but Sue."

And at the very moment Zechariah wrote down the name John, he regained his voice and sang this Hymn of Praise for his son, John.

And what a Hymn it was. We forget that Zechariah was the first one to really know and understand what was happening. He was the first one to know that the Messiah was coming. He was the first to know of his own son's greatness and the part John would play in the coming Kingdom of God. And he heard it right from Gabriel's own mouth.

As we look at Zechariah's hymn, there are three things I want us to see. It tells us that GOD KEEPS GOD'S PROMISES, that GOD IS OUR DELIVERER and that GOD'S MERCY IS TENDER.

I. GOD KEEPS GOD'S PROMISES:

A. First, let's look at how GOD KEEPS GOD'S PROMISES.

Zechariah remembered all that God had told the prophets. And when he finally opened his mouth and was able to speak, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and amazing things started pouring out of his mouth. Zechariah remembered Israel's glorious past and remembered how God had made it all possible. Zechariah made the connection between the past, present and future. He saw how his son John would prepare the way of the Messiah and fulfill God's ancient plan. (2)

Zechariah remembered God's promises and rejoiced in the fact that we have a God who keeps God's promises.

That promise of redemption, salvation, forgiveness, deliverance and hope laid in the womb of the world for 400 years. And then, in God's time, pregnant with the hope of the world, those promises were born. God was the father of those promises as well as the midwife who delivered them.

God remembered His promises. God remembered and Christmas began in the heart of God. It was delivered into the hands of adoring parents. But it is only complete when it reaches in, touches our heart and changes our lives.

B. We might forget but God doesn't.

It seems a certain man was invited to a friend's house for dinner. He arrived, and they sat down to eat, and he noticed that every time his host spoke to his wife, or asked for something, he preceded his request by calling his wife "My Love", "Darling", "Sweetheart", and other loving names. When the wife left the room for a moment, the man looked to his friend and said, "That's really nice. After all the years you've been married, to keep saying those little pet names."

The host leaned over close to his guest and whispered, "Well, to tell you the truth, we've been married so long I've forgotten her name."

We might forget but God doesn't. Thanks be to God that God keeps God's promise

II. GOD IS OUR DELIVERER:

A. GOD KEEPS GOD'S PROMISES because GOD IS OUR DELIVERER. And sometimes, boy do we need to be delivered.

A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick a few things when he noticed an elderly woman lady following him around. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored her and continued on. Finally he went to the checkout line, but right as he started to push his basket in line, she jumped in front of him. As she stood in line she just stared and stared.

Then finally she said, "Pardon me, I'm really sorry if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that, well, you look just like my son, who died about this time last year."

"Oh, I'm sorry," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well, actually yes," she said, "As I'm leaving, can you say 'Good bye, Mother!' ?It would make me feel so much better."

"Well, sure," answered the young man. As the elderly woman was leaving, he called out, "Good-bye, Mother!" As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was $127.50. "How can that be?" he asked, "I only have a few things here!"

"Well, your mother said that you would pay for her stuff, too," said the clerk.

B. As hard as it is to admit at times, we live in a fallen world. Try as we might, without God we can't get it right. Without God we can't even get close to getting it right.

I read about a man who came in off the street one day to talk to the preacher. The guy wore an old, black felt hat that had about two dozen turkey feathers sticking out of it. He wore a pair of women's pink pointy sunglasses and over each of his ears he had a piece of uncooked bacon. He wore a red flannel shirt, a tuxedo jacket, blue jeans and a pair of those big fuzzy slippers.

The preacher, who was acquainted with the man, asked him, "Sammy, what's on your mind?"

Sammy answered, "Well, Pastor, I'm here to talk about my brother Bob. You see," he said, pointing to his head, "my brother Bob ain't quite right."

One of the things that Zechariah's son, John, will tell us is that we "ain't quite right." Every Advent and Christmas season, Zechariah's son comes intruding into our festivities to remind us and make sure that we don't forget that we "ain't quite right."

And while he intrudes with that message of we "ain't quite right." He also tells us that there is one who is coming who will set things right. Because GOD KEEPS GOD'S PROMISES and GOD IS OUR DELIVERER.

III. GOD'S MERCY IS TENDER:

We experience that deliverance from God when we experience the tender mercy of God. And GOD'S MERCY IS TENDER. When we rely on God's tender mercy, it's then that we are made strong. When we rely on the one who can set things right we experience the power of God's Redeeming Grace.

There is a wonderful movie out on video, Walking Across Egypt. It stars Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Ellen Burstyn. It is a wonderful retelling of the story of the prodigal. Ellen Burstyn plays Mattie, an older woman who is "slowing down" as she puts it. She has a heart of gold that reaches out to the strays of the world. Her heart is filled with hope and she has a deep, abiding faith that sees the good in everyone. She tries to put her faith into practice.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Wesley, a 16 year boy in a Youth Rehabilitation Camp. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of good in him. He started off life with two strikes against him. He doesn't even know where his parents are or who his grandparents are. He's a boy with no hope, no future, and no one who cares.

Mattie finds out about him through a hilarious encounter with his uncle, the local dog catcher. After hearing a sermon on "the least of these" Mattie decides to visit Wesley one day at the Youth Rehabilitation Camp. It turns out to be a visit that changes both of their lives.

A short time later, Wesley and his buddy escape one night and head to Mattie's house because Wesley thinks she'll be easy pickings. His buddy won't go in but Wesley concocts a story about being out on leave. The trouble is, Mattie believes him. And even more importantly, as the story unfolds, Mattie believes IN him. And this is something that nobody else has ever done. For the first time in his life, Wesley experiences joy and hope. And he experiences what it is to love and be loved.

This child of God who was lost in the wilderness of sin, finds redemption in the promised land through the love and mercy of this old woman. Because Mattie believed IN him and stood by him. Wesley discovered Forgiveness, Redemption, New life, Salvation, Hope and Love.

And maybe the most important gift of all was that in the midst of what he first thought was weakness, he found not only strength but unconditional love, resurrection and new life. All "through the tender of mercy of God" as it was lived out in Mattie's life.

We're called to live out and experience that same tender mercy of God in our lives. You see, sometimes we're like Wesley, lost in the wilderness of sin. We've either gotten lost or willingly run off but we're lost and we need help getting home. And then, sometimes we're the Matties in life. We're simply called to live out our experience of God's tender mercy so Christ will be able to reach out to others and help them find their way home through us.

And that's what this season is all about. Helping each other find our way home.

CONCLUSION:

Sandra Palmer Carr in THE UPPER ROOM tells about rocking her younger son Boyd. Boyd was facing Mom, when suddenly, he lifted his head, stared straight at his mother, and became very still. He cupped her face in his little hands and almost in a whisper, said, "Mommy, I'm in your eyes."

He'd seen his reflection in his mother's eyes, and it affected him strangely. The rocking stopped and the room grew quiet as Mother and son stayed in that position for several moments. "And I'm in yours," his mother said. Then Boyd leaned his head against Mom contentedly, and she resumed rocking.

Occasionally, in the days that followed, Boyd would check to see if his discovery was lasting. "Am I still in your eyes, Mommy?" he'd ask as he reached up to look into her eyes. (3)

Sandra Carr wrote: "In life's uncertain moments, it is comforting to know I am still in my heavenly Father's eyes."

The Good News of this season is that we are all in God's eyes. As we look into the manger and into the eyes of the Christ child, we see ourselves. And we see the reason why Jesus came. We see why Zechariah was so filled with joy and sang that first Christmas Carol.

Zechariah reminds us that GOD KEEPS GOD'S PROMISES, GOD IS OUR DELIVERER and GOD'S MERCY IS TENDER.

Look into the manger again. Look and see yourself reflected in the eyes of the Christ Child. Look in and see why God came.

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Bibliography

1. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), December 1996

2. Adapted: Homiletics, Nov/Dec 2000, Volume 12, Number 6. (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH)

3. May/June 1996, p. 15.

4.