The Cast of Christmas : Hope in the Hopeless

Watch the video version of this sermon here!

Hello and welcome back to another week here on Making Waves! Years ago, I was given the chance to be in a production of the famous (perhaps infamous in some cliques) musical display of the gospel of Matthew, “Godspell.” For those of you not familiar, it is a paraphrased recounting of the ministry of Jesus Christ is the setting of the slums of 1960s or 1970s New York City. Bright colors, disco and rock music, afros, chain-link fences… you get the idea.

It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I was able to use my talents and passions for theatre and vocal performance to better illustrate and teach the gospel. Not to mention, it was the only theatre production that I got to co-star with my mother, which was special in and of it’s own light. I was given the role of one of the disciples, whose name was “Herb.” I was content in this role, and I thought I played it to the best of my ability, but it wasn’t the role that I really, really wanted. I desperately wanted the role of John the Baptist. He was one of the three characters without a name change from the gospel and his role was so brutally important. He would kick off the show with this booming and triumphant musical homily:

Pre-e-e-pare ye- the way of- the Lord!
Pre-e-e-pare ye- the way of- the Lord!

While I may not have played the role of John the Baptist, I was still so incredibly impacted by this role. Not to mention that John the Baptist was the role I wanted above all else, not the role of Jesus, but of John the Baptist. This was what originally got me thinking about the Bible as a kind of narrative. Sometimes, we can get stuck on viewing the Bible as being very surface level, with just a few main characters and main ideas. We think that any deeper thinking is unimportant. But maybe, just maybe, there is something that might make us relate to the characters we wouldn’t expect. Maybe we might find ourselves relating more to John the Baptist than to Jesus. It’s hard to put ourselves in the shoes of a loving deity on Earth in human skin (although some of us act like we are deities sometimes), but the shoe fits a little better with a human man sent to prepare the pathway for something much greater than himself.

This is my thought with this series, over the course of the next several weeks leading up to Christmas Sunday, we are going to be taking a journey through this story of Advent that we know and love so much, and taking a look at the characters themselves beyond the Savior that we so often try to relate to. For this season of Advent, we are going to be looking at the rest of the Ensemble. The people you’d least expect to be the center of attention.

Without any further garbling, let’s dive into the Word and kick this gospel off with a story of man and wife. This scripture comes from the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 5 through 19, if you’ll join me in reading.


“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.

8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “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. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “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. 20 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.” “

-Luke 1:5-19

Will you pray with me? Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be acceptable in Your presence. You are our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Let’s begin with some background here. If you want to understand a scene in a play, the first step is to select the right backdrop for the scene. So, we pick up before the birth of Jesus, in fact, before the conception of Jesus at all. We pick up our story today with the birth and conception of someone else who is pretty special. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We are in a time where the nation of Judea is ruled by a King who goes by the name of Herod. Herod was not a very kind and loving King. He was a deputy of the Roman government and, the thing about the Romans and the Israelites was that they didn’t really get along. The Romans preferred to keep government and religion as far apart as possible. They believed in free practice, and wanted separation. The Romans worshipped their gods and things made sense to them and they left it at that. Unfortunately, the Israelites were a little more definite about things. Their concept of a monotheism, with one God reigning over all, confused the Romans. But the Romans preferred to keep things separate, they ultimately just found the Israelites to be quite strange. With the prevalence and pervasive nature of idols and false gods, the Israelites really struggled during this time. Their faith was in an all-out war with itself. Now, let’s take a look at who is on-stage.

We meet one gentleman, who is an Aaronite. He is a descendant of Aaron, which means that he is very revered in his priestly duties. He is an old priest who is incredibly obedient to God. He does his duties, he checks off his to-do list, he prays at the right time and says the right words. His name is Zechariah and he is, without a doubt, a noble and responsible man of God. Now, Zechariah has a wife, but no family beyond that. Still, he prays consistently and constantly for the state of the Israelites and the people of Judea. You see, Zechariah sees the world around him, he sees it crumbling. He sees people falling from God and losing faith and becoming complacent with life here on Earth.

One day, Zechariah is at the temple and it is his turn to pray over the incense within the church. This is something that is safe to assume that Zechariah has done countless times before. First, because he is quite old and, second, because the method for deciding who goes in is just drawing lots. He goes inside and begins to do his thing: he lights the incense, goes through the typical liturgy, prays the same words and concern, but something happens this time that is different. While he is praying, Zechariah is visited by an heavenly figure, whom we later find out to be the angel Gabriel.

The angel tells Zechariah that he is going to be having a son with his wife Elizabeth, and they are going to name the boy John. He will be a child that is rejoiced and is the light that will illuminate the pathway for the Savior to come into the world. The angel tells Zechariah that his prayers have been heard and are now answered. Zechariah’s years and years and years of praying have yielded him an offspring. You would think that, perhaps, Zechariah would be incredibly excited? After all, he has just been visited by an incredible angel who has answered his lifelong prayer. But instead Zechariah wants proof. He is skeptical of this being possible. After all, he and his wife are barren. Science and knowledge made it clear to Zechariah that this kind of turnout is simply impossible. The angel’s response here is classic, and I am paraphrasing here, but basically he responds with, “Dude. Are you serious? I’m Gabriel. The OG of God’s infantry. I’m literally an angel sent to you by God. The guy who actually made your people out of the clay of the ground. You would honestly doubt the power of God?”

So, Gabriel places some kind of power on Zechariah that causes him to be mute until the day when the prophecy of Gabriel comes to some form of fruition. Because of his doubts, Zechariah is made mute until the day that John is born. And then, when John is finally born and the lips of Zechariah are finally opened, he delivers this incredibly exaltation to God, hear these words.


68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us
   in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71     that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
   by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

-Luke 1:68-79


Finally, Zechariah is able to share his message, and to share his praise. You see, folks, Zechariah represents something for us. He represent the story of Hope. The purpose of prayer and of diligence and loyalty towards God. We all have trouble trusting God, especially whenever God decides to work in the impossible. We have no trouble trusting in God when it comes to getting us to church on time, or when it comes to getting a good gift for Christmas, but when push comes to shove, trust in God can be difficult.

After we have that wreck and we’re not sure how we can afford a new car payment.

After you see some kind of horrific violence on the television and you check the lock on your day three times to make sure that you are safe.

After our child is sick again and we have to miss another day of work and we are wondering how another day without pay will affect our house bill.

After you find out that your parents are separating and you realize that your family will never be the same.

After that doctor check up that doesn’t so well, when you weren’t expecting some kind of devastating disease.

After you receive the news that you’ve lost a loved one or if you’ve ever held a dying loved in your arms as they pass on.

This world can feel so hopeless. We can drag ourselves down with the weight and the problems of the world. Zechariah was certain that he would never have children. With a barren wife and a long life lived, he believed that there was no way for God to work within his own parameters. Zechariah was a hopeless soul. But think back to those words of Zechariah, think back to the praise and to the exaltation to a God who can bring hope to the hopeless. Not only that, but find hope in these words of Gabriel: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.” I want to say that again because I feel like it is so powerful in this story.

Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.

Do not be afraid, Tom, for your prayer has been heard.

Do not be afraid, Anne, for your prayer has been heard.

Do not be afraid, John, for your prayer has been heard.

Do not be afraid, Logan, for your prayer has been heard.

Do not be afraid, Nathan, for your prayer has been heard.


Find hope, friends. Do not be afraid, do not doubt in the almighty power of our incredible God who can give us hope in the hopelessness. Be still and know that your prayer has been heard.

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