Zechariah and His Silence

In the assigned scripture this morning in my devotional guide was the story of Zechariah the priest being told by the angel Gabriel that, in their old age, and in spite of Elizabeth being barren, there were to have a child. Zechariah expresses his doubt about the situation, and in response, Zechariah was struck dumb. He did not speak again until after John's birth, on John's circumcision day. When everyone thought the baby would be named after his father. Elizabeth spoke up and told them that he was to be named John and Zechariah confirms it by writing it out...and Zechariah finds his voice. He was not able to speak for 9 months, the whole time while Elizabeth was pregnant. I was reminded of that Progressive Insurance commercial where Flo is talking with the monks:




I identify with with Flo the Progressive girl here. It is very hard for me not to talk when there are people around to talk to. Very hard. And when I thought about this this morning, it seemed to me to be too harsh a punishment for Zechariah. This will be the only child he ever has and he won't be able to speak about it. He can't sing praises in the temple; he won't be able to say out loud to Elizabeth how much he loves her; he won't be able to say words of comfort to her when she has morning sickness (which was probably okay with Elizabeth); he can't tell the vendor it's a PICKLE that he wants, not just a cucumber; he didn't get to speak all of the words he had in his heart for young cousin Mary when she came to visit; he couldn't sat "coochy-coochy-coo" to John on the day of his birth.


What did he think about all that time when he was unable to speak, and only use sign language or his slate to give the barest of his thoughts? I guess one thought he might of had was when Elizabeth told him that she was pregnant "why did I doubt that Gabriel guy?" But he was able to communicate in other ways, I am sure. His eyes spoke his love for his dear Elizabeth; he chuckled, perhaps with her when they went to their Lamaze classes and realized that they could have been the grandparents of any of the to-be parents there; he sat by Elizabeth's side as she knitted booties; and he made a happy sound, not really a word, when the neighbors came with their gifts.

Leaning to communicate without talking all the time can be a challenge for lots of preachers, I've noticed when they are not preaching. It is hard to practice Listening, really listening, not just waiting for the next time you can say your next elucidating if not clever thought. Waiting in silence when someone stops by the church to tell you something so important that it is hard for them to say it. That can be very hard. Letting someone else set the agenda and plan a new ministry with a only bit of verbal shaping on your point, but mostly again, listening is a challenge too.

Zechariah heard many things during those months. And heard them without getting to make or having to make a statement about it. A bane and a blessing. I think I'll try it a little more this Advent.