Zechariah was silent.  All these months later, he could open his mouth, but not a word would come out.  He could only scrawl on a tablet. It was still all so strange, even for this man who had devoted his life to God. 

He was from the priestly line of Abijah and provided service at the Temple in Jerusalem.  On the morning he left to serve in the Temple, he had said goodbye to his wife, holding Elizabeth close to him. The two of them had shared so many years of marriage, but one without children. While they felt that melancholy emptiness in their lives, they delighted in the many children within their large families. 

At the Temple, the priests drew lots and Zechariah was chosen to enter the sanctuary.  As he entered to make the incense offering, he saw an angel standing by the altar and was gripped with fear. “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,” the angel said. He went on to tell Zechariah that Elizabeth would have a son and “you shall name him John.”

Zechariah was stunned and could barely understand when the angel added that the boy would be “great in the sight of the Lord.”  He stammered and asked how he could make sense of this.  Really, he and Elizabeth were quite old.  The angel gently said that Zechariah would be mute until this happened and then disappeared. 

And then Zechariah’s silence settled upon him.  He tried to speak but no words would come.  He finished his duties and moved outside to greet the crowd waiting outside for the customary blessing. He could only gesture but made them understand that he had seen a vision and was mute.

At home he silently told his wife what had happened, and they held each other, neither sure of anything except their belief in God and their love for each other.  As the months passed, he watched and rejoiced with Elizabeth as she grew large with child.  His silence drew him into deep prayer that absorbed him, and he often sat for hours by the fire, lost in prayer and scripture. In that sacred quiet, he felt an utter peace and the constant presence of God.

As he relaxed into his silence and spoke to God more honestly it came to him that perhaps he did not fully trust this God he loved so deeply.  His reaction to the angel when told of God’s gift of a child was to ask for logic.  “How? When?  Impossible!”
But now in his silent world, he felt his connection with his Lord deepening. Zechariah prayed for the courage to trust in God completely.  He humbly asked forgiveness for his doubts and perhaps a healing of an arrogance that kept him from truly believing that God had promised to be gracious to each one of us.

When Elizabeth’s time came, the house filled with women who were there to help their beloved friend give birth. When the baby came, the women rejoiced.  The neighbors and husbands soon joined them, congratulating Zechariah and discussing the baby’s name.  A boy, the men boomed!  He should be named Zechariah, like his father.

Elizabeth shook her head and said the baby would be named John.  They protested and appealed to Zechariah.  But he only smiled and confirmed her words writing on a tablet: “John is his name.” 

John, which means “God has been Gracious.”

He felt his silence end and knew that it, too, had been a great gift from God.  His many months of quiet had given him the time to reflect and to pray in a new way.  He trusted in God and was ready to proclaim thanks for this “gracious gift” from the Lord.

Zechariah turned to those gathered and with a voice croaking from the long silence said loudly and joyfully,

Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Israel;
He has come to His people and set them free ….
In the tender compassion of our Lord
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.