'Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realised he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.'
Some might have said it was by pure chance that Zechariah found himself inside the temple sanctuary - they drew lots to determine who would serve. Others could argue it was just a matter of routine - it was his division that was on the rota; it was their turn and after years of faithful service, perhaps this was no more than he deserved.
Whatever the reason, Zechariah found himself standing before the Altar of God, just as Isaiah had done centuries earlier. What he was doing could easily have been dismissed as no more than nostalgic routine; carrying on an increasingly empty ritual; keeping up the pretence of a bygone halcyon age as a momentary escape from the reality of Roman invasion, servitude and poverty.
Zechariah returned from his duties unable to speak. Was it just getting too much for the old man? Had he suffered some sort of affliction while he was in there, or perhaps, just perhaps, this really was a place where God's presence could be found; could it be that, just like Isaiah all those years earlier, Zechariah had also experienced a Divine encounter?
For us too, this can be a season of familiar ritual. We will make ready and follow well-rehearsed routines. Many in our world will welcome the opportunity for a nostalgic escape from the realities that surround. Our carols and candles will provide a heart-warming backdrop to a catalogue of festivity and self-indulgence - for many, this is the only nativity they desire.
We do not despise such time-honoured traditions, but we choose to believe that God is truly at their heart. A God who is not simply locked away in the legends and stories of the past, but One who is present in our remembering of them; who waits to be encountered in the new realities of our contemporary world.
Whatever reasons were offered to explain Zechariah's attendance at the temple that day, we have come to see it as a Divine appointment; a key milestone in God's eternal purpose. And for those who witnessed and chose to recognise it, a dazed and dumbstruck priest, overcome in the midst of his daily duties was a sign, for all time, that God's promise of salvation is secure.
Faithful God, may the routine never become so familiar that we fail to expect to discover your presence at its heart. AMEN
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