Advent and Parenting

A few verses from the Zechariah story again, in a different translation.

Luke 1:5-7, 13-14 (NRSV)
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… 

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, 

Malachi 3:1 (NRSV)
1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight--indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 4:5-6 (NRSV)
5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.

Some thoughts on how  Advent involved Parenting God’s Plans

How long had Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child? For years?  Had they given up praying? Had they said, “It’s just never going to happen, we will have to learn to be content without children?”  The angel Gabriel breaks through the long, perhaps given-up waiting, and speaks of the child to be born to them.  Read the words…

“Zechariah”, the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord...

Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

This child is part of God’s plan…His Advent plans.  Whatever else we may think of Zechariah, God saw in him one who could parent his plans.  Perhaps for each of us it would be good to once again think how Parenting fits into God's plans.

Did your parents pray for you? I don’t mean pray for you because you were doing things wrong, wasting life.  I’ve seen many parents who have prayed for their kids at one time or another for many things:  safety (especially if you have boys), good grades, health, the right friends.  Eventually parents pray for their decisions about the future, school, career, a spouse to love…and on and on it goes.  If you’re a parent it’s quite probable that you pray for your kids every day.   But that is not what I mean by “Did your parents pray for you?”

What I mean is:  Did your parents pray FOR you…pray for you to be born, to have a family that included you? Many a mother or father can say they “prayed for you”.

Sometimes it was someone else. A Grandmother, Grandfather, Friend, Sibling who held you in their heart as a promise for God? It is a very special child who is born into a family that eagerly desired and waited for a pregnancy and birth to occur.

Gabriel comes to tell Zechariah he’s about to become a parent for God’s purposes.  “Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son… You have prayed for this child and thus far you waited, perhaps even thought it would never occur. God has heard your prayer but this is no ordinary child…this child is going to be God’s emissary to prepare a world for the Messiah’s coming!” (my paraphrase).  That is an answer to prayer of eternal significance.

“…and you are to give him the name John.” John means “Yahweh has given grace”.

We give our children names that often have significance to us from our past. This child’s name isn’t linked to the past; instead, he was named for the future.

Yahweh (The LORD) has/is giving grace.  Did you hear that? 

Yahweh’s grace is not used up, it’s not gone into hiding…it lasts forever.  That grace is not displaced by Roman rule and tyranny; it is not subject to world’s failures – it is Yahweh’s grace…forever and ever…faithful, merciful, never in short supply.

God has a heart for parents and children.    Are you in a long line of faith generations?  Be thankful for the ongoing faith passed down from generation to generation - that's the ideal.   Were you the first to turn towards the Lord in your family?  Hallelujah, and now let the generations of faith begin!
What you received might have been from people whose faith was not all that great… BUT, you’re here now aren’t you? So, something happened…God made something happen.  And what is that?
That in every generation, the hearts of the fathers are turned towards the children, and the hearts of the children are turned towards their parents.

A Prayer:  “Father it is good to know that you know all about raising children.   I know what it is like to be a father and to raise a child, and to see them have children and then be a Grandparent - well that's the best.  Help us Lord to honor our father and mother who raised us.  As we journey through Advent, may our heart be opened to the children, even as yours was in your own life on earth.  Help us to remember to be child-like in our own faith; and help us, when like a child we become impatient in waiting, to trust in you as the parent who knows exactly what to do.”  Amen