A Season of Expectations (Luke 1:11-20)
Gary McManus, 11/29/2020Part of the Christmas series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
November 29, 2020 The First Sunday in Advent Luke 1:11-20
Who could have imagined this holiday season, 2020?
Did any? Did many see this stage of the pandemic?
This holiday season is already a disappointment.
The theme for this year’s Advent/Christmas Season
is “expectation.” DCC considers expectation, anticipation, promise and fulfillment.
It is our expectations themselves that often bring us
disappointment.
Expectations for movies? Expectations for Pastors?
Expectations for holidays?
The word “Messiah” itself carries expectations.
Our Bible talks about the Messiah--what Messiah will be like,
what will Messiah do? So, we may ask the questions.
What did the people of Jesus’ time expect?
Let’s ask our Bibles. Then ask ourselves about
our own expectations.
See Acts 5:34-39: Theudas, Judas. . .
Defining a Jew was not simple.
A Jew? Which group: the Zealots, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Jesus followers, John the Baptist followers?
The Bible makes more sense if we can realize that Jesus was one of many who claimed to be someone—the Messiah.
Jesus’ own words make more sense (Mark 13:21ff: ).
The responses of the Pharisees and the Romans make more sense.
Luke begins, not with Jesus; family, but John’s:
Zechariah, the priest.
Zechariah, confronted with a messenger of God who
brings stunning news of personal joy—Zechariah
[But Gabriel is not an angel of death:
Exodus 11:4-5, 2 Kings 19:35. ]
Zechariah, who has prayed prayers for the people,
is told that HIS prayer has been heard.
And all the expectations immediately follow. . .
The angel’s message includes Old
Testament prophecy: Malachi (Malachi 3:24
in Hebrew) Malachi 4:6 and Malachi 3:1.
Zechariah’s response is not one of excitement. . .
of any kind, is it?
This is where this report has meaning for us.
How about your prayers and the answers to those prayers?
This priest is clearly faithful but not perfectly faithful.
The Lord God will work to fulfill God’s promises even
through old people and even through faithful old people who seem less than sure in their faith or less than certain about what God can accomplish through old people.
God works with faithful people but not flawless people.
You and I don’t have to be perfectly faithful or flawlessly faithful for the Lord to work with us or through us. Amen
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