Christmas for Weary Servants
We labor not in vain
Story 3
“A man’s work is not measured by his success. Rather, he is measured by the faithfulness to the task by which He is called.” These were my father’s words to me in my sophomore year of college as a Theology student. I don’t think they really settled into my heart until my 5th year of full time ministry. At that moment in time I had been rattled by the scorn of people in the church where I pastored, hurt by other pastors who conspired to undermined my work, and often frustrated by how uncooperative circumstances which seemed to be popping into the midst of my dreams, I began to find myself slipping into depression. I struggled to find God’s voice in those moments. Yet, what I needed to know had been planted in my heart years ago when my father uttered this sentence about faithfulness.
I have found that men and women who serve God find themselves at this place regularly. Whether there is frustration with their families, friends, jobs, personal lives, or maybe even their churches, it would seem that there are seasons where you wake up asking yourself, “what is it all for?” For some, that season might seem like the entire journey on this earth. It was prophesied in Isaiah that this would even be the emotions of the Messiah when he came to us. This sense that no matter how hard you work for God, it seems like nobody listens and nobody cares.
“I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity, yet surely my right is with the LORD and my recompense with my God. (Isaiah 49:4)”
Perhaps this is the place where Zacharia and his wife Elizabeth found themselves several months before the Messiah was born. Zacharia was a priest, and the Bible makes special emphasis on the fact that He an his wife were both “righteous before God.” (Luke 1:6) This older couple were faithful servants of God. Zacharia was a good man who served God everyday in the Temple. He and Elizabeth prayed together everyday, they read the scriptures together, they encouraged one another in the Lord. If anyone was discouraged, hurting, or weary, they could find a warm smile, and ear to listen, and almost always a hot meal at the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth. Zachariah just had a way of lifting your spirits in conversation and giving one hope in God. Meanwhile, Elizabeth always knew just the the right recipe to cook up and serve to their guests. Elizabeth had such a wonderful heart. She prayed over the people in her community, she prayed for her countrymen and their leaders, and she was always a welcomed sight among the needy. She was a strong woman. But as you got to know her a little bit, one could notice a sad far away look that Elizabeth could acquire at times.
Zachariah and Elizabeth both had always wanted children. They loved children. Zachariah always lit up when the little Jewish boys and girls from Jerusalem would run up the steps of the temple to greet him. And Elizabeth had such a mothers heart. It was her dream to raise a son or even several boys. However, Zachariah and Elizabeth were unable to have children. This troubled the couple greatly because it seemed like such a simple request. As great as their love was for God and as much as it brought joy to their lives to serve Him, wouldn’t it make sense for God to at least allow the simple process of nature take it’s course in their marriage and allow Zachariah and Elizabeth the joy of raising a child? It was confusing to the couple and to outsiders it often seemed like God was more cruel than just to this home.
Zachariah and Elizabeth’s God had not spoken to His people since the prophet Malachi, some four hundred years prior. They had watched helplessly and wept as their countrymen and women were butchered by the Romans. Though they both were known for their humility and meekness, it troubled Zachariah and Elizabeth greatly that their countries leaders had become corrupt and greedy to the point that they would take advantage of their own people in order to save face with and collect profits from Rome. Worst of all, faithfulness to God seemed to profit very little, especially for this couple, because God wouldn’t even allow them to enjoy the simple gift of a son. Yet, Zachariah and Elizabeth remained faithful to their God. Again and again the temptation to question God’s justice or even His existence would arise in the back of their mind. Yet, Zachariah and Elizabeth refused to let circumstances dictate their belief and their love in God.
The Gospel of Luke introduces us to this couple in the first chapter. At this point in time Zachariah and Elizabeth were older and had probably given up on the idea of having children. In this passage, Luke paints a picture of Zachariah laboring in the temple as he had faithfully done every day for decades. However, in this passage there is a visitor waiting on Zachariah in the temple as Zachariah enters to perform the temple ritual of burning incense at the altar. The visitor’s name was Gabriel, and he had come with a message for Zachariah that he and his wife would bear a son.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:13–15 ESV)
What an astonishing message it must have been for the Lord to have exited his silence to speak to His servant! God had not spoken in four hundred years, and for the first time Zachariah heard a message from God through the angel, and that message was that God was preparing the way through Zachariah and Elizabeth for the Savior of the World to be introduced.
As the Messiah was about to enter the world, God was on the move not only to declare defeat over sin, but to provide joy and gladness to the righteous. God upsets the atmosphere of tragedy and pain, in order to prepare the way for Good News. However, that good news is not just for the lost. God wanted to remind the faithful, that in His Kingdom and under Christ’s reign there is something far more superior than the pain and suffering that we will most certainly walk through in this lifetime. God preludes the birth of Christ with the birth of John the Baptist, and that is significant for more reasons than just a fulfillment of prophecy. God exalts His righteous servants, Zachariah and Elizabeth, and rewards their faithfulness with joy and gladness. God had not turned a blind eye to their faithfulness. He had not turned a deaf ear to their plea for a son. God rewarded His faithful servants in His good timing for the sake of His great and magnificent name.
Now, there are a great many of details that goes into this passage that would be worth reading for yourself. However, one of the themes that I think Luke is excited to shed light on in this text is that God is not very far from the pain of His children. There are seasons that every believer goes through where God’s existence or God’s justice is questioned within our context. I have personally sat down with pastors that have expressed their deep frustration and grief with how fruitless their ministry is. I have sat with the believer who is weary from the constant waves of discouragement that has crashed over their lives despite how fervently they have served God. And for many of you who read this, there are always seasons where we question how kind can God really be given the pain that we are going through in that moment.
Yet, God is not far from our pain and His message is that our service is a part of the sovereign and superior reign of Jesus Christ. We can rest in Him and under His wing, which is where our peace is found amidst the chaos that is often fostered within our frustration. In Christ there is joy and gladness because that is what the Kingdom of God presents for the faithful.
As I write this story, I feel the overwhelming burden of many friends and colleagues who, like Zachariah and Elizabeth, might have a clear understanding of disappointment despite your faithfulness to God. When I read this passage in Luke about Zachariah and Elizabeth, I always feel like they carry such an unjust and unfair burden. However, God sees them, and He knows the future that He desires for them. Thus, He begins to upset the atmosphere of four centuries of silence. He reaches out to the faithful servants in order to tell them that He hasn’t forgotten them. And how magnificent it is that the prelude to Jesus’ coming should begin with an announcement to God’s servants, that He hasn’t forgotten, He hasn’t turned away, and He hasn’t lost concern for them despite their pain? Thus, in this time of Advent, may those who have served faithfully and painfully find joy and gladness in the Good News, that in His coming, He is exalting the humble estates of the righteous servants.
Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
(Luke 1:46–55 ESV)
Dedicated to four of my dearest friends Joseph and Kristi Owens and Kyle and Jamie Chessor who, like Zachariah and Elizabeth, have never been able to have children. Yet, who have sought, in boldness, to reflect the redemptive message of the Gospel through adoption. May the road ahead prove God to be Sovereign and full of joy and gladness for your families. Merry Christmas!
