Written by: Danny Brierley - Oasis

Luke 1 v 1-4
Many have tried to report on the things that happened among us. They have written the same things that we learned from others—the people who saw those things from the beginning and served God by telling people his message. Since I myself have studied everything carefully from the beginning, most excellent Theophilus, it seemed good for me to write it out for you. I arranged it in order to help you know that what you have been taught is true.

Notes
Two of the following statements are true, one is false. Can you spot the odd one out?
a. My car was recently bitten by a male lion.
b. I once ran 64 miles in one day.
c. I have eaten alligator meat. 

It is of course an unfair question. Unless you know me, all you can do is guess. There is no way you can be sure. We are constantly being asked to believe what others tell us. Do these sound familiar?:
· I’ll pay you back.
· I love you.
· I didn’t do it.
· I’m telling the truth.

Some things are easy to believe. We believe them without questioning. Yet people sometimes ask us to believe the strangest things. How do you decide what is true?

Luke’s Gospel was written by, err….Luke. He was a doctor. All the doctors I know don’t accept anything they are told until they have had opportunity to test it for themselves. They’re not satisfied until they have tested, examined and poked – preferably under a microscope using tweezers and rubber gloves! Likewise, being a doctor, Luke was concerned to test everything he had heard about Jesus before announcing it to be true.

In today’s reading, Dr Luke tells us Jesus can be trusted because he has carefully investigated all the evidence. He wrote this summary to reassure us. But don’t just take it from Luke, test things yourself. Do you believe Jesus can be trusted?

By the way, the odd one out was ‘b’. It took a day and a night!

Luke 1 v 5-7
During the time Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to Abijah’s group. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the family of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth truly did what God said was good. They did everything the Lord commanded and were without fault in keeping his law. But they had no children, because Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.

Notes
I became a Christian when I was fourteen years old. My parents were not Christians and thought it amusing I had started going to church. They said it was just a stage I was going through. It happens to most people at my age, they said, and I would soon grow out of it. They made it sound like another side effect of puberty! Well, I’m now 33 years old and next year I will have been a Christian for twenty years. This is proving to be a very long stage of life!

In today’s reading Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth, were clearly struggling with the same stage of life that I am. Despite being very old, they were failing to grow out of a love for God. Dr Luke wrote that they did everything the Lord commanded them. By the way, that’s where the similarity between Zechariah and I ends!

Yet irrespective of Luke’s praise, Zechariah and Elizabeth had great sadness in their lives. Despite their best efforts, they were struggling to conceive the child they so desperately wanted. Now they were too old for their dream to be realised. They had every reason to turn away from God. Instead they continued to seek after God. Christianity isn’t something to grow out of. Many, like Zechariah and Elizabeth, discover Christ is with them through both the difficult and comfortable times. Picture yourself as an old person, still seeking after God and hearing Dr Luke say you did everything the Lord commanded. Isn’t that something worth aiming for?

Luke 1 v 8-12
One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his group was on duty. According to the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. There were a great many people outside praying at the time the incense was offered. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense table. When he saw the angel, Zechariah was startled and frightened. 

Notes
Being a Christian is not easy. As well as sometimes facing opposition from those who do not understand our beliefs or our values, we also struggle against routine. Do anything on a regular basis and it can soon become dull. I enjoy fair grounds. but the more times I go on a ride the less likely it is to thrill me. This is because I know what is going to happen before the ride has even begun.

In the same way, dare I say it, the Christian life can at times appear routine. It is not too long before you are able to anticipate what is going to happen next in a church service before it has even begun. You can sing a new song, having never heard it before, because you are familiar with the style of songs your church sings.

In today’s reading, Dr Luke shows Zechariah busy with the routine of serving in the Temple. He’s done it many times before and, no doubt, will continue to do it for as long as he lives. But, in the middle of this routine, an angel grabs his attention. God has broken into the routine and, not surprisingly, it works. Zechariah is listening.

We worship God, not because He gives us the buzz of a fair ground ride but, because He is worthy of our praise. He doesn’t cease to be God when we stop focusing on Him. Yet, though some worship services may appear routine at times, there is always the possibility that God might surprise us. By going to worship we prepare ourselves for the unexpected, making ourselves available to God. Be expectant. 

Luke 1 v 13-17
But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son, and you will name him John. He will bring you joy and gladness, and many people will be happy because of his birth. John will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer, and even from birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. He will go before the Lord in spirit and power like Elijah. He will make peace between parents and their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the right way of thinking, to make a people ready for the coming of the Lord.”

Notes
You are a truly remarkable person. Many people queued up to start the race, but only you completed it. Whilst others ‘talked the talk’, you were the only one to ‘walk the walk’. In fact you beat off literally millions, even billions, of others to claim the prize. Of course you won’t remember this. You were just a sperm at the time!

Every human life represents almost unlimited potential. When a baby is born, it is not uncommon for people to wonder what sort of person she or he will grow up to be. Will they turn out to be athletic, clever, angry, funny, creative, shy and so it goes on. 

In today’s reading, Dr Luke tells us that God sent an angel to tell Zechariah that Elizabeth, his elderly wife, was going to have a baby. Not only that, this was to be no ordinary baby. As well as beating off millions, no billions, of sperm, this boy would grow up to become an awesome servant of God. The potential of this baby would not have changed had Zechariah dismissed the angel’s prophecy. Whether or not your birth was met with wild scenes of jubilation from your birth parents, God knows the potential you have. And it is truly awesome. You too can be someone that people like Dr Luke describe as being a great person for God, filled with the Holy Spirit and able to point others towards God. Believe it. You’re amazing!

Luke 1 v 18-20
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.”
The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. Now, listen! You will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe what I told you. But they will really happen.”

Notes
Isn’t it amazing what some people seem to need before they will believe? They say, “Unless a camel, wearing a black bow tie and red wellington boots knocks on my door at 3.15 a.m. and tells me in fluent Dutch, ‘the pink chicken flies over the moon’, I won’t believe a word of what you say”.

In today’s reading, Zechariah is met by an angel. Now, call me unspiritual but, I suspect this wasn’t part of his regular routine. Every time he went to worship, he wasn’t met by angels dancing around his head singing the Hallelujah Chorus - in a Matt Redman kind of way. He didn’t respond to Gabriel by saying, “Oh its you again. What do you want now?” Encountering an angel was probably as remarkable for Zechariah as it would be for you and me. So why did he say, “How can I know that what you say is true?” Hello! It was an angel. I wonder if Zechariah later felt embarrassed by his response? If he did, it didn’t seem to matter to God. The angel’s prophecy was not dependent on Zechariah’s response. It would come true anyway.

There are occasions when I struggle to believe God is interested in me, or even that He exists at all. There are days when I am just not sure. Yet, God is just as true on these days, as on any others. He is able to cope with my odd responses and mood swings. If there are times when you are not convinced God can be trusted, do not worry. You are in good company. Tomorrow is another day. But, just to be sure, how’s about rehearsing what you would say to an angel, should one suddenly appear. After all, you don’t want to do a Zechariah.

Luke 1 v 21-25
Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he was staying so long in the Temple. When Zechariah came outside, he could not speak to them, and they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple. He could only make signs to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service at the Temple was finished, he went home.
Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and did not go out of her house for five months. Elizabeth said, “Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed of me, but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”

Notes
Some experiences are so powerful, they are hard to explain. I still find it difficult to put into words how I felt when my children were born. I remember telephoning my parents and speaking utter gibberish. I think the conversation went something like this: “It was.. I mean, she’s, well.. and then the midwife..” My life had been completed changed as a result of these experiences and yet I couldn’t find the right words to describe what had happened.

In today’s reading, Dr Luke tells us that Zechariah had been literally stunned into silenced by his encounter with the angel. The people knew something must have happened to him. But what? Maybe it was the shocked expression on his face? Or was it the way he was walking, or rather stumbling? By his wild hand signs he seemed to be saying he had met an angel, or was it a bird? No, hold on, he is saying his elderly wife is pregnant? Zechariah’s experience was profound but how could he explain it?

Zechariah and Elizabeth needed time to get their heads around all that had happened to them, not to mention the prospect of becoming parents at their age. Can you get discounted nappies with a Senior Citizens Card? Was that really an angel? How will I be changed?

It is not always easy to explain to others what being a Christian means to us. Without saying a word, people knew that something had happened to Zechariah. You can be assured that, as you follow Christ, others will notice a difference in you. Let your actions speak louder than your words.

Luke 1 v 26-33
During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”
But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.
The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Notes
First Gabriel tells Elizabeth, an elderly woman, that she was going to have a baby. He then tells Mary, a young teenage girl, that she too was going to have a baby. 

Both women were from the same family. Their babies would be cousins. Just imagine what the atmosphere was like at the first family get together after it had been announced both women were pregnant. Even the most understanding of families would have struggled to accept what had happened to elderly Elizabeth and teenage Mary. Mary’s pregnancy was complicated by her claim that the father was not Joseph, her fiance, but none other than the Lord Almighty. It doesn’t require too much imagination to hear the whispering, questions and rumours that must have circulated. Family life was probably far from easy!

Yet Elizabeth and Mary were right. Their pregnancies were part of God’s plan. What to others seemed a personal difficulty was, in fact, a sign of God’s blessing. Who are we to challenge God’s wisdom? Followers of Christ are sometimes misunderstood, and even rejected by those who should know better. Fortunately for Mary, Joseph would later demonstrate his loyalty to her.

Of all the people on Planet Earth God could have chosen to carry His Son, He chose an unmarried teenager. Had others seen in her the same potential? Did it come as no surprise to them that God would use her in this way? I suspect not. God can also use you in surprising ways. But be warned: this may not be a route to an easy life.

word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes