[This is the sermon manuscript from the 12/3/2023 worship service at Avenue Church. You can watch the sermon here.]
Sermon Text: Luke 1:5-25
In The Polar Express, a doubting boy boards a magical train on Christmas Eve, and is headed for the North Pole. Adventure after adventure befalls him and a little girl who becomes his friend as they are guided along by the conductor.
As the train ascends a particularly steep hill, the threesome climbs down into the coal car from the top of the engine. The conductor is telling them to watch for ice when the boy slips. The conductor grabs him just in time and swings him back on board, which reminds the conductor of his first trip on the Polar Express. As they return to the train, they talk about what it really means to believe.
Conductor: Years ago, on my first Christmas Eve run, I was up on the roof making my rounds when I slipped on the ice myself. I reached out for a hand iron, but it broke off. I slid and fell. And yet, I did not fall off this train.
Girl: Someone saved you?
Conductor: Or something…
Girl: An angel.
Conductor: Maybe! (but said with the conviction of a Yes!)
Boy: Wait, wait! What did he look like? Did you see him?
Conductor: No, sir. Sometimes, seeing is believing. And sometimes, the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.
As we begin the season of Advent, a season where we hope in things we cannot see, we are starting a new series called God With Us. One of the names of Jesus, proclaimed in the gospels, is Immanuel- which means God with us. We may not physically see God, but we believe that God is there. We believe that God is not in some distant place but with us in every situation. This morning, I want us to consider that God is With Us In Our Doubts.
Neither Our Lineage nor Our Work Will Keep Us From Hardship or Doubt
Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous and blameless, and they still encountered hardship. Doubt was part of their story. Luke records,
5 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. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. [1]
Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people, and maybe even great people amongst their peers. The words that Luke uses to describe the couple are the same that the Old Testament uses to describe Noah, Abraham, and Job. They were righteous before God. They lived blamelessly when it came to following the law. While they may not have been perfect, they wholeheartedly chased after the things of God. This is not bad company to keep!
There was a problem though, Zechariah and Elizabeth were not able to have children. We are not told whether they could not conceive or whether the conception ended in miscarriage. Infertility is a draining and traumatic set of circumstances for couples today, and it certainly was in Biblical times as well. It carried a stigma that a couple must have sinned in some way and were cursed. It is important today that we not continue that misconception and stigma.
Even though they were righteous and even though they were blameless for following the law, they still endured hardship. My guess is that more than once, they cried out to God, saying, “Why me?” or “Where are you, God?” Can you relate to that? Their lineage and good living did not exempt them from hardship or doubt.
Do Not Allow Doubt to Develop Disbelief
When we doubt when we have questions about anything, it can be a catalyst in our life for deeper learning or understanding. But there is a challenge that we can allow our doubts and fears to develop into disbelief.
Luke continues that Zechariah was selected to enter the temple and burn incense outside the Holy of Holies. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Zechariah. While inside the temple, an angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah. As is common when one encounters one of the heavenly hosts, Zechariah is terrified. The angel states:
“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. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
The angel tells Zechariah that Elizabeth will not only conceive a child in her old age, but bear a son. This was a sign of blessing and favor. But Zechariah asks, “How can this be? I am an old man and my wife is getting along in years.”
This is nearly the same question Mary asks the angel when she is told she will bear the Messiah. Mary asks, “How can this be since I am a virgin?” In both situations, bearing a child seems out of the question. Mary’s response after hearing Gabriel’s explanation, is one of obedience. She says, “May it be to me as you have said.” Zechariah was struck mute by the angel Gabriel because “he did not believe” the angel’s words. There is a difference between doubt and disbelief. One can compel us forward. The other holds us back. Don’t allow your doubts to develop into disbelief.
God is With Us in Our Doubts (and even our disbelief)
Luke tells us that once Zechariah was struck mute, he went home to Elizabeth, and she became pregnant even in her old age. She went into seclusion for five months. Perhaps this was because they had raised their hopes before only to experience crushing loss. After five months of seclusion and seeing that the pregnancy had taken, Elizabeth said,
The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” [2]
In the midst of Zechariah’s doubt and disbelief, God never left the couple. God did not abandon them or punish them. You can make the case that when Zechariah became mute, he was experiencing extreme mercy and grace from God that corrected him and guided him back to the pathway of faith and hope. When the baby was born, and named John, Zechariah regained his voice and praised God. The people were amazed. God had upside down this story of doubt, disbelief, and despair. I imagine that Zechariah and Elizabeth’s devotion to God and their faith increased through this experience. Doubt, when we pursue answers in God and Christ, can be a catalyst for greater faith.
I wonder how many can relate to Zechariah’s story this morning. We have come to a place in our lives when we have moved past doubts and questions and into the realm of disbelief. We may come to church each week, we may read our Bibles, we may even go through the motions of prayer but deep down we do not believe that God is on our side. We do not believe that God is for us. We can lose hope amid trying and difficult circumstances.
The season of Advent begins by lighting the candle of hope. We hold onto the hope that light will soon shine even when there is deep darkness in the land. We hold onto hope that when we are gripped by sin, God’s grace covers us. We have hope that even when we cannot see it, God is still working. We have hope that even in our doubts God is with us.
There are some here who are on the verge of disbelief. We’ve lost hope that God will work in our lives, or maybe we’ve never encountered God’s presence, love, and grace in a real way. We would be wise to take up the prayer of the father pleading to Jesus to heal his son: “I believe, help my unbelief.”
As we begin the Advent season, let us not allow despair and disbelief to have any foothold in our lives. Let us use our doubts to catalyze a deeper faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. May we live each day filled with hope that no matter how dark life seems to be, God is with us through it all.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 1:5–7.
[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Lk 1:25.
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