Dear Friends,

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

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Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

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Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people” (Luke 1:5-25, NRSV)

Zechariah is presented with the announcement of a gift brought to him by the Archangel Gabriel from the throne room of the Almighty. It is a promise of joy and gladness because of the birth of a long desired and prayed for son, John, who has a special destiny.

Zechariah gracelessly demands, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years” (Lk 1:13-14, 18).

Secrecy and surprise are the set-up for the delight of both the giver and the receiver of a gift.

Yet, every family has at least one member determined to wring the mystery out of their gift by hunting down the package, lifting it to judge weight and bulk, and then shaking it violently while listening for clues as to what might be inside. This can be disappointing for the gift-givers who have spent so much time in selecting just the right thing, wrapping it carefully and attractively, and hiding it from premature discovery.

But package-shakers can’t seem to help themselves. They can’t stand not knowing. Sometimes it seems that they think they can’t handle the unpredictability of sudden joy or disappointment so they seek to know to be able to control the outcome. Fear of disappointment undergirds many a graceless life, because for grace to amaze us, we must be willing to embrace the mystery of not knowing exactly what, when, where and how.

It is not the “what,” that matters. The gift is the gift. Shaking the package, testing it for weight, examining the paper and ribbon for clues, will not yield a different result for it is the Giver of the gifts, the Lover of our souls, that commands the devotion of our hearts.

Zechariah is a package-shaker.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime service for a priest of Zechariah’s stature. He is ministering in the sanctuary, the Holy Place, awash in the prayers of the people outside and the fragrant incense offering inside. Yet Zechariah cannot accept the answer to the prayer he has prayed for so long. He can’t take the word of God that the desires of his heart will be fulfilled without knowing exactly how this will happen. Instead of gratitude and praise for the grace he is receiving, Zechariah insists on details.

Zechariah is a religious professional. He knows what is supposed to happen, when it is supposed to happen and his part in it when it happens. Unexpected joy is a profound disturbance to the ordered existence of a religious professional. What are you going to do if you have done everything that you are supposed to do, only to find out that God has other plans that do not involve your performance?

Like all of us, Zechariah’s religious training and obedient service can only take him so far. Now, he has a decision to make about his prayer–is it only the pious mouthings of a man whose religious competence is a mask for the perceived disgrace of the sterility that shadows his closest relationship? Or is it a hopeful petition for the something more that his heart craves?

Who is it to whom we address our prayers and why do we pray? These are questions that, if pursued honestly, open a heart to the gracious possibilities of God.

“How will I know that this is so? For I am . . . .” is the question of a heart conditioned to its limitations and resigned to failed expectations. Such a heart finds what meaning it can in performance, but finds grace difficult, if not impossible, to accept. Grace, however, is what God has to offer us. Questioning that grace is like shaking the package to find out if one really wants the gift or not. It smacks of ingratitude.

God’s grace is not dependent upon our response for it is unmerited favor. The gift to Zechariah is made unconditionally, to be fulfilled in God’s timing, Gabriel tells him. However, Zechariah is going to be rendered mute until the angel’s words come true.  The man of religion who places his reliance on what he knows is going to find out that true knowledge of God comes from our quietness in his presence (Ps 46:10; Ecc 5:1-2).

It will be nine months before Zechariah speaks again on the occasion of the birth of his son, John. The silence of the heart is where praise and worship are birthed because it is there that we will find God’s gracious strength exalted over our dependent, craven weakness. Zechariah’s first words when his ability to speak is restored are a confession of grateful praise:  “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them” (Lk 1:67).

And you–occupied as you are by the demands of the season, religious and secular–are you conditioned to your limitations, resigned to your disappointments, and focused on your performance as the meaning of your existence?  Where do you stand on the gift that God offers you in Jesus?

Are you shaking the package trying to determine if you really want what’s inside or not? Do you want to know exactly what this all means before you accept? That’s going to be a problem since Scripture says the gift is “indescribable” (2 Cor 9:15).

Is the promised joy of Christ’s presence disorienting to you, since you are working so hard to keep up with the demands on your life? He asks you to bring whatever is on your mind and heart to him and he will give you rest (Matt 11:28-32).

Every instinct that you may have, and everything that you know may be crying out against accepting the gift of God’s grace, expressed to us in Jesus. But if you are not trusting Jesus, you are trusting your own performance, and what kind of trust is that?

We have an advantage over Zechariah in knowing that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for us. Yet, we are no more trusting than Zechariah in accepting that good news as the essential truth of our lives.

Like a bird mesmerized to its doom by a snake hunting it, we look intently for the “catch” in the promise of good, the exception to the God’s favor, the spot that Christ’s blood will not cover, until the wrong swallows us. When we do this, we ignore, if not outright deny, God’s word to us that every good gift in our lives has its source in God (Js 1:17).

Let’s be clear about this, Jesus’ assurance to us is that “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). For us to shake the package of Abba’s love that wraps the gift in the attempt to discern a flaw or limitation is not only ungrateful, but futile. The kingdom is not a gift that can be shaken. Hebrews 12:28 says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.”

What then are we to do in this season when we are reminded that God comes to us as a gentle child leaving our fears without an excuse? I suggest that we stop trying to shake the package and scrutinizing the gift. Instead we can wait and watch for God’s gift to be revealed to us  in the fullness of its beauty. We can wait in silence to learn what Zechariah did in his nine months of speechless wonder:

By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

(Lk 1:78-79)

“O taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy are those who take refuge in him” (Ps 34:8).

Under the mercy of Christ,

Kent

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Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Hansen are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.

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Kent Hansen is a Christian attorney, author and speaker. He practices corporate law and is the managing attorney of the firm of Clayson, Mann, Yaeger & Hansen in Corona, California. Kent also serves as the general counsel of Loma Linda University and Medical Center in Loma Linda, California.

Finding God’s grace revealed in the ordinary experiences of life, spiritual renewal in Christ and prayer are Kent’s passions. He has written two books, Grace at 30,000 Feet and Other Unexpected Places published by Review & Herald in 2002 and Cleansing Fire, Healing Streams: Experiencing God’s Love Through Prayer, published by Pacific Press in spring 2007. Many of his stories and essays about God’s encompassing love have been published in magazines and journals. Kent is often found on the hiking trails of the southern California mountains, following major league baseball, playing the piano or writing his weekly email devotional, “A Word of Grace for Your Monday” that is read by men and women from Alaska to Zimbabwe.

Kent and his beloved Patricia are enjoying their 31st year of marriage. They are the proud parents of Andrew, a college student.