The Other Couple
Christmas…that time of the year when our Bibles will be open to the second chapter of Luke. It is there we will read of a stable and an inn, a manger and some shepherds. We will tell the story of the young couple of Joseph and Mary. It is the Christmas story.
And yet what a shame it is to forget the story of the first chapter of
Luke…the story of “the other couple.”
We forget sometimes that Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, the old priest,
before he appeared to Mary…that
So
different…a priest well on in his years and a young fourteen year old girl.
And yet it is so clear. The
Jewish faith had paved the way through the ages for the coming of God’s Son.
How fitting it was to be that the son of a Jewish priest would announce
the coming of the Messiah. But that
Messiah would bridge the gap between the Jewish law and the rest of the world.
He would be born to an innocent young girl whose only response to the
angel regarding an impossible situation was “I am the Lord’s servant.
May it be to me as you have said.”
Mary’s was a response of faith, not of adherence to the law.
It’s interesting that it is Zechariah who is the one who doubts.
“How can this be? I am an
old man and wife is well along in years.”
I almost laugh when I hear Gabriel’s response, that seems of “an
angel with an attitude!” The wise
old priest has his voice taken away. On
the other hand, the young Mary is met with more compassion.
Her questions are not about doubt…they are about innocence.
Cousin John would be born six months before Jesus.
Just as his mother Elizabeth proclaims the coming of Mary with “How is
it that I am so favored to be visited by the mother of my Lord,” so John would
one day say to his disciples about Jesus, “I must decrease and Christ must
increase.” Make no mistake, God
new what is was doing when he selected Mary and Joseph…he also knew what He
was doing when He selected Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a John the Baptist fan.
He is the essence of what we coaches describe as “the team player.”
It was never about him…it was about Christ.
Christmas is about Christ, too, but I would ask you this…the next time you
hear someone read the second chapter of Luke, the Christmas story, ask them to
drop back one more chapter. You
know, the one about “the other couple.”
The chapter about the “the other baby” who would grow up and say,
“I must decrease, but Christ must increase” and maybe that’s what
Christmas is really all about!
Love In Christ,
Billy