Luke 1:5-13, 57-80 - December 17, 2023

Does Christmas matter? 

That’s a bit of a controversial question, isn’t it? And maybe one that is more appropriate a week from now. But with all the build-up and anticipation and then the sudden packing everything away come next Tuesday… Does Christmas matter? Everything will just go right back to how it was. 

On a deeper theological level, God coming to us was supposed to fix everything, right? And yet, 2,000 or so of Jesus’ birthdays have come and gone and everything is still a mess. It doesn’t seem like much is better. So, on top of “Does Christmas matter?” maybe another question to add is, “Is God faithful to God’s promises?”

And that question isn’t unique to us. It’s been the question that Jews and Christians have asked throughout all of history. 

For most of us - at least most of the time - we would think that, yes, God is faithful. We trust that we and this world are ultimately in the hands of a loving God who is moving all things toward justice and righteousness through the means of mercy and grace. 

But sometimes when we look around, we think… nope. We just don’t see it, don’t believe it, don’t understand it. How is that war happening? Why did this disease come? When will it end? 

Whether or not we notice God being faithful makes a big difference in our lives.

Luke, in this story about Zechariah, is encouraging us to keep trusting - or to trust again - in God’s faithfulness. Remembering how God has proven faithful in the past - even when all hope seems to be lost - builds confidence that God can be trusted in the future - and, even, in the present. 

We start by meeting Zechariah, the priest, and his wife, Elizabeth. We learn they are old and that they don’t have any children. It just so happened that as Zechariah was carrying out his priestly duties one day, an angel of God appeared to him, informing him that he and Elizabeth would have a son. They are to name him John. 

Because we didn’t want to read a whole chapter, we skipped over the middle part where Zechariah questions the angel. “Do you expect me to believe this nonsense? I’m old, and so is my wife!” And because Zechariah didn’t believe the angel, the angel made sure Zechariah couldn’t speak until everything was fulfilled. 

At the end of our lesson, we get that fulfillment. After Elizabeth gives birth to her son, and after Zechariah writes on a tablet, “His name is John,” fulfillment happens. Zechariah’s voice, once silenced by doubt, bursts into song. 

Zechariah’s song directly draws a connection between what was and what will be. Zecharaiah announces God’s faithfulness. He lists many things that God has done: God redeemed Israel. God has shown mercy. God remembered the covenant. Throughout it all, even when things were bleak, dark, and barren, God kept true, God remained faithful, God fulfilled promises. 

Remembering how God has proven faithful in the past - even when all hope seems to be lost - builds confidence that God can be trusted in the future - and, even, in the present. 

But then comes the second part of his song, where Zechariah talks about what is to come. He looks ahead to promises yet to be fulfilled. And, because of God’s track record, he sings of how God is going to be faithful to those promises. 

He speaks to his own son, John, stating that John’s mission is to prepare the way and make people aware of salvation. I look at John's “giving the knowledge of salvation” really as reminding everyone of God’s promises and God’s faithfulness. Because it is those two things that ultimately bring salvation. Salvation is God’s promise, and only God’s faithfulness can make it happen. 

Then Zechariah gives us a few hand-holds so we can know and see exactly how God is going to be faithful to this promise. 

The first marker is forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness is key to what God does in remaining faithful to us. Our sinfulness doesn’t define us; if it did, we would never live up to God’s level for salvation. Instead, God’s faithfulness to us ensures that, even when we miss the mark, God’s forgiveness is there, God isn’t leaving us, and God will remain faithful to the promise. 

The next way Zechariah shows God’s faithfulness is by “the tender mercy of our God.” God’s compassion, love, and mercy bring light to our darkness, like a sunrise breaks the night. We see the ongoing, growing, coming light of God’s goodness, even as death’s darkness lingers. God’s mercy means that God is faithful to the promise. 

And third, God will show us the way of peace. One foot at a time, slowly guiding our feet down the path… God will lead us along the way that brings God’s true peace for the world. God’s peace means that God is faithful to the promise. 

Through these things - forgiveness, mercy, and peace - God shows faithfulness. God shows that the promises made long ago are still in effect. And in Jesus, we see the answer, the fulfillment of all these things. God’s faithfulness is made flesh in Jesus, who does forgive us of our sins, who does show mercy in each encounter, who is born the Prince of Peace. 

And this is the best part - and the hardest part - of Advent. We know that it is done; based on God’s track record, we know God has made it happen. But also, we wait; we know there is more to come. And what makes the “more to come” even harder, though, is that it comes through us.

See, God’s faithfulness is enfleshed in Jesus. But God’s faithfulness is also enfleshed in us. The Spirit fills us as it filled Zechariah so that we can proclaim God’s faithful promise in our words, in our songs, in our actions, just like Jesus. 

In our lives, we’ve seen this to be true. We’ve had our moments when all hope seems to be lost. Things are bleak, dark, empty. We just don’t see it, don’t believe it, don’t understand it. And yet, here we are. Somehow, God was faithful enough to bring us here, and God isn’t about to quit now. 

In our congregation, things haven’t always reflected the glory days of yore. And yet, God didn’t let a little remnant die away. God guided this congregation through tough decisions. God shined a light to lead the way through, and this congregation was brave enough to follow. And now, here we are. God was faithful enough to bring us here, and God has more for us to do.

And that “more” is to live out for the world the forgiveness, mercy, and peace God faithfully promises to us. As God shapes us in worship, as we remember that God names and claims us in baptism, as God feeds us in bread and wine, we see that God’s faithfulness will bring us through. God has done it before, and God will do it again. 

On Christmas morning, it’s not over. It’s not over because God’s faithfulness isn’t over.  In fact, it has all just begun. God has begun it yet again. In us, through us, with us. God, ever faithful to the promise, guides us, sustains us, and beckons us into a future where forgiveness, mercy, and peace prevail, forever.