Promise and Fulfilment

Sermon on Luke 1:57-65

I have a music CD of a Celtic band called EKO. In the description of one of the tunes called Relativity, a play on the word ‘relatives’, there is this short story. “My father had 11 brothers and sisters and my mother was one of 10, providing me with 43 first cousins. Since it’s customary in Ireland to name your first male child after his paternal grandfather, many of my male cousins are called Dennis. Although often confusing, this proved useful several years ago when much of the clan was gathered after the legal closing time at a Listowel pub, mourning the death and celebrating the life of a very dear uncle. A contingent of the national police arrived and started taking names. One by one my cousin replied, ‘Dennis O’Connor.’ After 7 or 8 of them, the police threw in the towel, shook hands all around, and left. The women came out from hiding in the ladies room, and the talk and the tears continued.”
I remember this story because it is an amusing story that has to do with family ties and tradition. Stories that reflect cultural laws and customs are always more attractive to me because by describing a specific setting, they are more human and real. These are stories that often get retold at family gatherings and passed from generations to generations. Today’s story is also a memorable one, and one that is probably well known to the original readers, because it is a heart-warming culture based story. Like the Irish story I related in the beginning, Jewish children were often named for grandfathers and sometimes for fathers. The father rather than the mother had ultimate say in the matter. In naming of the child, the father claims ownership of the child. However, given the situation that Zechariah was deaf and mute, the neighbors were presumably calling the child Zechariah after his father, although he hadn’t been properly named. That was a valid assumption on the part of the neighbors given the customs at those times.
Neighbors customarily joined in celebrations at the birth and circumcision of a son in the family home, especially for an unusual one like this one. We have here an elderly couple getting a son. Jewish tradition suggests that guests assembled every night from a boy’s birth to his circumcision. In this case, the community recognized the great mercy that God had bestowed on the family and rejoiced even more so than usual. The circumcision is a special event performed on the eighth day according to the law, to signify that the child would be raised according to the biblical law. Because of the unusual circumstances of the child not being named at birth, this is presumably also the time to officially name the child. They had presumptively been calling him Zechariah because of the father’s disabilities and they were going to now make it official. At this critical juncture, the mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
This is a shocking moment because it is uncommon for the mother to interfere with such things. And secondly, John is not a name found in the family and hence it is an unreasonable request from Elizabeth. You can tell that those were not good times to get innovative with names. To resolve the embarrassing situation, we are told they then made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. This is how we know Zechariah was deaf besides being mute, and the underlying reason for this naming confusion. Still, he was the final authority on the matter, and they have no choice but to play charades with the old man. After the comical scene whereby Zechariah slowly understood that the neighbors and relatives wanted him to correct his crazy wife, Zechariah asked for a writing tablet to put a final stamp on the matter. Given how expensive the writing material was and the literacy level at those times, this was no small matter. It was not as if they were giving him a pen and a note pad. The writing tablet was a wooden board coated with wax; and one would inscribe the message on the wax surface. The name John was thus confirmed.

The name of a person is never quite a simple matter, and I bet there is a small story behind every one of your names. If you don’t know, it is certainly something you should ask your parents. My first child, a girl, is named 信臻 because my wife and I wanted a name with a Christian meaning, in this case faith of a high, lofty state. When my wife was pregnant with the second child, and knowing it is a boy, we wanted another name with some continuity. With my daughter’s name linked to height, we wanted something related to depth for my son. This is how we ended up with the name 信湛, meaning a faith that is deep and clear.

The name John, means “God is gracious”, which implies the act of grace of God that comes along with giving the elderly couple a child. But it also points towards the grace that will come about from the child’s ministry. Furthermore, Zechariah was doing much more than just giving the child a name. The name was a command from angel Gabriel. The meaning of the name carries with it all the promises of the ministry that God intended to work through John. John’s life will be the grace of God on his people. John will be the reappearance of Elijah to prepare the hearts of the people for God. In this naming, Zechariah was therefore confirming the all the promises of Gabriel given in the Temple and acknowledging the birth of his son as its partial fulfillment. The onlookers were astonished at Zechariah’s revelation of the name on the writing tablet because it was totally unexpected. They now knew that it was no mere coincidence that Elizabeth had chosen that name. It is a divinely given name, and they can expect great things to come from the child.

There is a sign that comes along with the naming. Zechariah began to speak and prophecy. We should give special attention in this case to the sign of Zechariah turning dumbness to speech. This is because there are a few layers to this sign. Firstly, it is a sign of fulfillment of Gabriel’s prophecy to Zechariah. It was at the promise of the prophecy that he turned mute, and conversely, it was at the fulfillment of the prophecy that he could speak again. Secondly, it is a sign from doubt to faith. Zechariah was made mute because he asked for a sign so that he could be sure. Conversely, at the moment of naming, it was a clear indication from Zechariah that he now believed, and he had gained the certainty. Thirdly, it is a sign from silence to praise. The story marked by the dumbness of Zechariah is reflective of the centuries of seeming absence of God. But with the praise of Zechariah returning, it is a sign that God is now present with his people.

When we first started this series to understand the Christmas story from the perspective of Luke, I listed 2 things we should always look out for. They are certainty of the gospel and a message that is for all. I think the certainty angle is pretty much covered after I have outlined how the naming story is both miraculous and meaningful. But some might not have caught the significance of this story. What is Luke’s message for us? I believe the key is in the last verse “Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.” This story appears on the surface as a fulfillment portion of a prophecy story. A son was promised, and a son was borne, thus fulfilled. A name was given by Gabriel, and a name was confirmed by Zechariah. A sign of dumbness was given, and the sign was completed with praise. It seems like a good time to end with “and they lived happily ever after”. Yet, the recorded response of all who heard the story was to correctly wonder: What then is this child going to be?

The story today is not just a fulfillment. It should be recognized a springboard to expect even greater fulfillment. This is somewhat like the minor interest and cash rewards along the way of an investment that will eventually mature in huge returns. We know that we can continue to hope for the true fulfillment of the entire promise precisely because we have already witnessed this precursor of a partial fulfillment. There is a lot more that was promised by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah in the temple. But for now we know that we are on the right track because things that were prophesied are already beginning to happen. The birth and naming of John the Baptist precisely tells us this. The phrase “the Lord’s hand is with him” tells us that God is indeed involved in this, and we can expect more and greater things to happen. The best is yet to be.

There is a common phrase “thank God for small miracles”. I think there is great truth in that point of view. Many things appear coincidental. And many things look minor and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The birth of a child to an elderly couple seems like a small miracle. We are not exactly finding a cure for cancer here. Yet, it is with such little steps that we are given hints of greater things to come. The trick is to recognize that the Lord’s Hand is moving these things. And if we spot them, as the community that heard of this story did, it would be wise to take time to reflect and wonder just like they did: what more is God going to do? The answer will be spelt out in the ministry of John and Jesus. But today, I hope we can reflect on our own life, and recognize the small miracles that have brought us thus far. If you see that the Lord’s hand is with you, what are you going to be? What you are now is God’s gift to you, but what you become is your gift to God. This is Luke’s message for all. To look beyond the current gloomy situation, and to expect great things in the future based on small miracles you see today. From the gospel, we observe God’s hand involved in history and we know we can all await the grand finale to be fulfilled completely.