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Luke 1:15-25 As a little boy, I grew up in Kansas City Missouri. One of my favorite memories was going to Municipal Stadium with my Dad and Grandpa to watch the A's play. That was before Charlie Finley moved the team to Oakland, and it was a real treat for a kid to go to an A's game. There was a petting zoo in the outfield and Harvey the mechanical rabbit delivered balls to the home plate umpire. By the time I was four years old, I had a baseball glove, an A's shirt, and a machine that pitched balls for me to hit. Before long, I was dreaming of playing in Municipal Stadium, hitting a grand slam homer in front of 30,000 screaming fans. That dream faded by the second grade when I realized that I was terrible at catching pop-fly balls. For many of my classmates, however, that dream stayed alive and some went on to play ball in high school and college. Do you remember the film, "Field of Dreams?" One of its characters in Archie Graham, a would-be ballplayer who only got to play half of one inning in the major leagues. Let's listen in on his story... [VIDEOTAPE] All of us have had dreams in our lives that didn't come to fruition. Some of them are inconsequential, like my boyhood notion of playing at Memorial Stadium. Others are more painful. It may be that we've hoped for a satisfying career, but landed in a meaningless job. Or perhaps we dreamed of a loving relationship that has somehow eluded us. It could be that we dreamed of children that would never come. Whatever the case, we understand Kevin Costner's character when he says, "It would kill most people to come that close to their dream and not touch it." How do we face the pain and emptiness of dreams that left unrealized? Today we consider the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth who were getting along in years - and who thought their dreams had passed them by. As we consider the scripture, the first thing we notice is that: I. ZECHARIAH AND ELIZABETH FAITHFULLY FOLLOWED GOD Did you notice that when we read the scripture? Did you notice that "both of them were upright in the sight of God, following all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly?" Given their pain, it's heartening to read about their faithfulness. It's clear that Elizabeth and Zechariah dearly wanted to have children, but they had been unable to conceive. Some of you know the heartbreak and sadness of wanting kids, but not being able to. Not only had they been deprived of personal happiness. In the culture of the time, being childless was considered as a sign of being out of favor with God and it often resulted in social reproach. There's another aspect of the story that's often overlooked. Zechariah was a priest and it was his duty to serve at the temple for one week every six months. One of the priest's duties was to keep the incense burning on the altar in front of the Most Holy Place. The thing to keep in mind is that this was a very rare privilege for priests. The honor was determined by drawing lots. It could have been possible for Zechariah to go through his whole life and never enter the Most Holy Place. That morning came, and Zechariah's obedience paid off. He was there for duty and his name was chosen. Zechariah was called to serve God in the Most Holy Place. How do we respond when our dreams are frustrated? Are we obedient and faithful like Zechariah and Elizabeth? Or, do we act out in anger and defiance? Do we presume that God has abandoned us and act selfishly? It seems important to remember that Zechariah's priestly dream of serving in the Most Holy Place could only be realized by his obedience. He was where he needed to be. Are we where we need to be today? Are you where you need to be? God calls us into right relationship to lead us to more fulfilling lives. As we consider the scripture, we're also reminded to: II. LISTEN FOR GOD'S GIFTS WITH AN OPEN MIND It's easy to become so disenchanted with life, to give up on our dreams, that we cease to be open to wonderful surprises. When Zechariah entered the temple that morning, he was met by an angel who was sitting beside the altar. As angels so often say in scripture, he calmed Zechariah by telling him not to be afraid. Karen and I just returned from a delightful vacation in the Cayman Islands. We enjoyed sinking into the carefree island pace and meeting a lot of happy people. One night Karen phoned to make dinner reservations. The clerk on the other end of the line took down the reservations and said, "OK. Don't worry." Isn't that a key realization we all need to make? That we should worry less. And trust God more. When we fail to realize our dreams - when they're blocked for some reason - we realize that we're not completely in control and we become anxious. On our flight home yesterday, we struck up a conversation with a young man seated on our row. We were talking about how, the older we get, the less we like to fly. We all admitted that it's because we don't like to be out of control. Any sudden turn or unexpected movement of the airplane, especially if it appears to take us away from our intended destination, seems to spell trouble. Of course, we can't see what the pilot sees. And she's steering the best course to keep us safe. "Don't worry." "Don't be afraid." Zechariah is face to face with an angel and about to hear the most surprising news of his life. He can't possibly expect what he's about to hear next. That long ago dream, the one he had given up on - is about to enter his life again. "Your wife Elizabeth," the angel tells him, "will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John." Now, the angel went on to explain the ministry that John would have. But, I have to imagine that Zechariah was stuck on that first sentence. "Elizabeth will bear you a son." Zechariah was so certain that this couldn't be the case, that he questioned the angel. "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." Wouldn't you have the same kind of disbelief? And isn't that our reaction, as well? As the likelihood of achieving our dreams seems to recede, don't we often trust less in God's power and direction for our lives? The story of Elizabeth and Zechariah shows us that even in the midst of our doubts, even when we think our goal will never be reached, God can not only surprise us - God can work through our lives in new and surprising ways. A third lesson from Zechariah and Elizabeth teaches us that: III. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT TO REALIZE OUR DREAMS Psychologists recently reported a new upswing of patients in their late 20s and early 30s. The typical patient is an owner or upper level manager in a high tech company. By riding the crest of a booming technology economy and the growth of dot coms, these young entrepreneurs have earned millions and millions of dollars before their thirtieth birthday. You may say, Don, what's the problem with that? The psychologists who are treating these patients report that they're suffering the effects of getting too much, too fast. One psychologist described a patient he had treated. "He told me that he had earned more money that he could spend. He had all the exotic cars we wanted, owned two houses, and had traveled around the world. He looked at me and said that he had already achieved all of his dreams and more. 'What's left for me?,' he asked." The scripture tells us that shortly after the visit from the angel, Elizabeth got pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. What does that mean, to go into seclusion? Well, it means that she spent time alone in joy, devotion, and gratitude that she was being given a child. Hear her voice of joy and excitement echo down across the centuries: "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away by disgrace among the people." By this time in life, Zechariah and Elizabeth probably expected that they would have raised their kids, sent them off to the University, and settled back to wait for grandkids. Instead, they are now facing the unexpected joy of becoming parents for the first time. Plus, they know that their son would play an important role in preparing the way for the Messiah. If we could ask Elizabeth today whether or not it was worth the wait for motherhood, I'm convinced that she would answer enthusiastically, "You bet it was worth the wait!" Who knows what kind of miracles God is waiting to work in our lives today? Perhaps God is waiting to transform one of our dreams into reality. Or, perhaps God is ready to give us a new dream, one that will stretch us in new ways. There's an important thing I'd like to say about our new Contemporary Worship Service. This service is not about my preaching. It's not about the band, or their music. It's not about the refreshments we share. We're here, because each Sunday God meets us here. God is here to bind our broken hearts, to cheer our sadness, to wipe away our tears. God is also here challenging us to stand tall in our faith and to take on new challenges. When John, Kathi, and I first met to begin planning today's service, we discovered that we have something in common. If you had approached any one of us three months ago, we would have told you that we didn't know if we would ever work in a church again. But, guess what. Here we are. What a wonderful surprise - and what a great opportunity to serve our God. It's our prayer for your that God has some surprises in store for you. We hope that you'll continue to seek to follow God through Christ, that you'll be open to God's surprises, and that you'll find it really was worth the wait.
May it be so.
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. And he took break, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." |