Zacharias and Gabriel

Luke 1:5-22 NASB

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
  Now it happened  that  while he was performing his priestly service before God in the  appointed  order of his division,  according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.  Zacharias was troubled when he saw  the angel,  and fear gripped him.  But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name 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; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.  "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.  "It is he who will go  as a forerunner  before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
  Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this  for certain?  For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."  The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."
  The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.  But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.

My thoughts -

One thing in particular jumped out at me in reading this passage this morning. Yes, we have another older couple who were unable to conceive being blessed by God with a child. And like Sarah before him Zacharias responds to this news with disbelief, or at least incredulity.

But what jumped me here this morning was Gabriel. When Zacharias sees Gabriel he is overcome with fear. He did not count on encountering a heavenly being while doing his priestly duty. They cast lots and it was determined to be his turn to go burn incense. Was this a sacred time for him? Was this an opportunity to worship and connect with God? Or was he just doing his job? It was his turn so he went.

I wonder what his attitude about this was. Was it just another day of doing his job? When the lot was cast and he say that he would be going did he shrug his shoulders or was he excited to go? Would he have responded differently if he know what this encounter would bring?

I confess that there are times when I go to worship and I am just doing my job. It is easy to have each week be yet another one out of fifty two in which we worship. Encountering the Divine is not always on my agenda. Sometimes I'd just like more sleep, or more coffee, or to not have just fought with my wife or kids about getting ready. Some times I wish the music was better, or certain people were here, or that my dad would value what I do. Some times I'm just doing my job, it is a week like any other week, there are distractions, and then I encounter something heavenly.

Zacharias encountered Gabriel and nearly jumped out of his skin. Can you imagine this? And angel of the Lord right there.

Have you noticed that when angels show up the first thing they always say is "do not be afraid"? Maybe this is because they are messengers of comfort and peace sent from a loving God who wants us to know that he cares and we have nothing to fear.

I'm a guy and so that explanation is not satisfying to me. I saw that one movie with Christopher Walken in it. Angels are fricking terrifying. That's why they have to tell people not to be afraid. Do a search for "angel of the Lord". Have you noticed how many times battles and swords are mentioned? It was important to have an angel fighting on your side or, failing that, at least not have one fighting against you.

Zacharias wasn't afraid here until after he saw Gabriel. Then he freaked and Gabriel had to tell him not to be afraid. I wonder how we ever got the image of those Precious Moments angels? My angel figurines would be designed by Todd McFarlane.

So this terrifying McFarlane-esque creature visits Zacharias while he's just going about his business, doing his job, burning incense, and probably longing to get back home to his wife. Zacharias has no idea what is going on. And then the angel tells him that he and his wife are going to have a baby. This would be startling enough on its own. But they are old and childless. And not only are they going to have a baby but this child will be a prophet, not only that but a forerunner for the Messiah. Zacharias is taken aback a bit. So he asks, "Are you sure."

Note to self: The next time I encounter a terrifying heavenly creature sent from God to send me a message... DO NOT QUESTION IT.

The angel did not draw his sword but he did pull rank. He explained that he stands in the presence of God and was sent by God for this very purpose and of course he's sure. And furthermore, since Zacharias was unbelieving he gets to have a sign. He will no longer be able to speak until the words the angel spoke to him come true.

Zacharias left stunned and mute. I guess he was running later than usual because a crowd had gathered wondering what the hold up was. And when they saw Zacharias they knew something special had happened.