Luke 1:5–25
As we begin the Advent season, Luke introduces us to a couple who knew disappointment. Zechariah and Elizabeth are righteous, faithful, and steady. They seem to do everything right—yet the one prayer they pray and have prayed for decades is unanswered. Still, they serve. Still, they show up. Their story reminds us that following God doesn’t insulate us from longing; sometimes it deepens it.
While Zechariah is serving in the Temple—just another day of doing his ordinary duty—God interrupts. Gabriel announces that their long-held heartbreak is about to turn into joy, and the child they will bear will prepare the way for the Messiah. The promise is overwhelming. The moment is unbelievable. Zechariah does what many of us do when the goodness of God feels too good to trust: he doubts.
What happens next is one of Scripture’s most gracious acts. Zechariah is struck silent, not as punishment, but as invitation. In the noise of his doubt, God gives him space to listen. In the swirl of disappointment, God offers a season of stillness.
Silence can feel unsettling. Yet many of us know what it is to be in a season when words fail—when diagnoses, transitions, grief, or uncertainty leave us quieter than we like. When any change comes, there is a moment of silence. Often we try to fill silence in an effort to make it feel better. However, the filling in of silence is a bit vain. This text reminds us that God meets us in those quiet spaces. Sometimes silence is the soil where trust grows.
We live in a world full of noise—constant headlines, strong opinions, endless obligations. Advent invites us to create room for holy quiet. Not disengagement, but attentiveness. Not avoidance, but expectation. Like Zechariah, we may need to step back from speaking long enough to hear what God is birthing in our midst.
And when Zechariah’s silence ends, his first words are praise. That’s the hope for us too—that the quiet spaces we make this season will lead us back to gratitude, renewed trust, and a deeper awareness of God’s faithfulness among us.
May we enter the holy stillness of Advent with open hearts and listening spirits. God is already at work, even when the world seems silent.
Pastor Todd