Glorious Disruptions

     Not all disruptions are bad.  I will never forget when five years of infertility was disrupted by the adoption of Evan. . . soon followed by the birth of Audrey.  We welcomed the daily feedings, the baths, the crying, the rocking, the loss of sleep.    Things that most parents complained about we received gladly, because we had known the ache of living without. 
     I have a little window into how Elizabeth and Zechariah must have felt when Gabriel announced that they would have a baby.   Luke doesn't give us their age, but writes that they were "both well along in years" (Luke 1:7).  I'm sure they weren't "trying" to have a baby.  After years of dashed dreams, I suspect the hope for a baby had been safely shut away.  But, Luke also describes them as people who were faithful:  "Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly." (Luke 1:6)  Zechariah served as a priest; Elizabeth served as his wife.  They were faithful in what God had given them, even though having no children marked them as less favored by God and society.
     When Gabriel makes his appearance to Zechariah, the announcement of a child is startling.  Zechariah is doubtful.  He asks for proof.   He wants assurance.  The result is Zechariah losing his ability to speak until the baby is born.  But, Elizabeth receives the news with joy:  "The Lord has done this for me. . . In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."  (Luke 1:25)  Elizabeth's broken heart brims with joy.  Her empty arms will be filled.  Her shame is replaced with favor.  Elizabeth gladly exchanges her quiet, predictable life for the adventure of raising a boy.
     Elizabeth's pregnancy shakes their town.  Everyone sees that God has shown mercy to Elizabeth.  They share in her joy.  When baby John is born and Zechariah's speech returns,  "the neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things." (Luke 1:65)  John's birth is rightly seen as God's divine intervention.  Elizabeth and Zechariah's joy ripples through their community.  Zechariah's first words are to praise God.  He predicts the future of his son as he sings,

      "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
          for you will go on before the Lord to prepare they way for him,
       To give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
       because of the tender mercy of our God,
       by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
       to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death
       to guide our feet into the path of peace." (Luke 1:76-79

     This is our God.  A God who interrupts our lives in big and small ways.  A God of tender mercy, who regards the buried longings of a human heart.  A God who brings light into darkness, delighting to lavish good gifts like a baby to an aging couple. 


The story of Elizabeth and Zechariah is beautifully woven throughout the story of Jesus' birth.  Read Luke's narrative in Luke 1:5-25; 39-45 and 57-80.