The Second Sunday of Advent-Year C

Advent 2C December 5, 2021 It was like something out of a nightmare. The New York City Subway had dumped us out into a futuristic concourse with no windows or exit signs. We had no idea where we were, if we were above or below ground, or how to get out. And everything was this unnatural white color. Many around us moved with purpose as if they knew exactly where they were going, while other kindred spirits wandered around aimlessly in the futuristic wilderness trying to find the exit that would get us to the World Trade Center Memorial. Finally, after we had walked from one end to the other, I saw it, a light shining on it as if illuminated from heaven. A map. We rushed eagerly forward and searched for the sign that would help set us free: the tiny star in the circle with those blessed words “You Are Here.” But here’s the thing, even after we saw where we were, we couldn’t make sense of the map or of the landscape around us, so we couldn’t figure out how to get out. So, we wandered a bit more until we happened upon an escalator to take us up to the surface and out to freedom. Our gospel reading today from Luke’s gospel is the gospel equivalent to the star in the circle with the words “you are here.”i. Luke is writing in a very specific time, in a very specific context, to a very specific people. And he is showing them, and us, exactly where they are in the moment before Jesus’s birth. He’s giving them a map of the landscape and helping them orient only to tell them that God is about to change the landscape in dramatic ways—"Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth…” So what do we do, how do we find our way when given a map and then being told that the landscape is about to change dramatically? That’s where Zechariah comes in. Our lectionary gives us another portion of Luke’s gospel today in place of the Psalm. It’s known as Canticle 16 or the Song of Zechariah in our Prayer Book, and I’m really grateful for its presence in our readings today because Zechariah is an interesting character who is not so different from us. We don’t see this in the portion for today, but Luke gives us another “you are here” moment in the telling of the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. He writes, “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. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.” One day, Zechariah was minding his own business, doing his priestly work and offering incense in the holy of holies in the temple, and the Angel Gabriel appears at the altar. (If we learn anything from Luke’s gospel it is that the Angel Gabriel as God’s messenger is one of the ways that God dramatically changes the landscape in an instant.) Gabriel tells Zechariah that he and Elizabeth are going to have a son who will be a prophet like Elijah, filled with the Holy Spirit. And his job will be to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” But Zechariah scoffs and questions Gabriel saying, “‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ And Gabriel, knowing that Zechariah needs a little help in changing the landscape, replies, “‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’” So Zechariah is silenced for at least nine months, and in that silence and space, his own landscape changes. After John is born and he can speak again, Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit and he sings this song that we have recited together today—a song that remembers God’s goodness to God’s people and promises more good things to come in the immediate future. In his months of silence, Zechariah recognizes where he actually is and allows God to change the landscape all around him. As one of my colleagues put it, “If you never prepare for something new, you’ll never be ready for anything new. Zechariah is this old priest who learns he’s going to have a child and he scoffs. He isn’t ready for something new, so he’s struck silent to be able to prepare.”ii And the amazing thing is that Zechariah uses that time to prepare for John’s birth and in that process, he becomes clearer on the nature of the God who he loves and serves. Change happens. The landscape can shift around us suddenly in an instant—like with an unexpected diagnosis, with the unexpected death of someone we love, with our world shutting down over the course of a weekend in 2020. And the landscape can also shift gradually as we wait and watch as our oldest child prepares to leave for college, as we pray and discern if it’s time to move out of our lovely home that is filled with so many memories and comforts into a place where we can age more easily and gracefully. The gift of Advent is that it is a season that invites us to prepare for change, to prepare for a change in landscape. It’s an opportunity for us to find the star on the map of our spiritual lives that says, “You are here,” and to take inventory as we begin to open our hearts to expect and prepare for change. Your invitation this week is to think about this. On the map of your life, with the star in the circle that says “you are here”, where exactly is that? Name that place to yourself or to someone you love and trust. And begin asking God to help you prepare for change. i. This idea came from my friend the Rev Jen Deaton. She shared it with our preaching group on December 1 and asked us to reflect on the question of what “you are here” star with a circle looks like in this moment of our life. ii. This comment came from my friend The Rev Kevin Goodman in the same conversation as listed above.