Have you ever had a moment so holy, so beautiful and good, that you couldn’t find your words? Some volunteer priests served their whole lives and never got the chance to lead worship in the Temple, but the lot fell to Zechariah. As the sun set, Zechariah put on the lavish priestly vestments, stepped behind the veil, scooped up a pound of incense and slowly poured the spices over the  altar’s red hot coals. A sweet aroma filled the sanctuary as the smoke ascended to the heavens. Zechariah offered the same evening Psalms he prayed each night, but on that night, Zechariah prayed in the place where God promised “here I will meet you”.(Exodus 30) In that thin sacred place Zechariah saw a vision of his beloved Elizabeth holding their child. It was too much to believe, they were too old to have children. When the vision ended Zechariah finished his duties, lighting the altar lamps.  The congregation was wondering why it took Zechariah so long. When he  returned they knew something holy had happened. Perhaps the kind of glow that lingered over Moses on Mount Sinai clung to Zechariah. Mysteriously, the angel had left Zechariah unable to speak. 

Zechariah finished his two week commitment before returning home to his beloved Elizabeth.  The priest and poet navigated a new reality sharing the Temple vision of a baby in their old age, not with words but with motions and clay tablets. When the day came to name the baby, family, and friends joined with the rabbi to bless and celebrate the child. People offered Elizabeth unsolicited suggestions about her chosen baby name. They let her know that they did not like the name John or “God’s gift”. Why do we do that?  Maybe tired of the chatter, Zechariah took out a tablet and wrote: “his name will be…. (drumroll please) JOHN.” The busybodies rolled their eyes, Elizabeth smiled and suddenly Zechariah spoke for the first time in 9 months.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, words returned and Zechariah’s first stanza echoes the prophets and the Psalms he knew so well. 

Bless the Lord, for God has looked favorably upon the people. God is our redeemer, helper and deliverer. God has raised up a mighty savior for us, just as God promised this through the prophets long ago.
God will save us from our enemies and from all haters. God is merciful and remembers the covenant, so we can serve the Lord without fear and dwell in God’s holiness and righteousness all our lives.

Meditating on the Scriptures helps us find words for the holiest moments of our lives, like the birth of the child, a long deferred dream, or the way our partner might smile at us. I imagine Zechariah’s holding baby John as he voices the second stanza. What do we pray for our children or grandchildren? Zechariah does not pray for John to be successful, comfortable or “you know: pop-u-lar: good at sports with the right cohorts”, prosperous, safe, and secure. Zechariah prays for John to know something more: goodness, justice and compassion.   

And You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,  for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way. to give the people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet along the path of peace.”

Zechariah longs for John to serve his neighbors, to get upstream of injustice and shine light to those in the shadow of death. Let people know they are forgiven, help people receive the tender mercies of God, and help people find the path of peace. Zechariah prays that John will live his life like a child of God: a life of significance, purpose and goodness.

“The tender mercy of God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The words peace and salvation have almost the same meaning in the Old Testament. The path of salvation and peace are the same path. Peace and safety are the norm when God is present. Peace and salvation are about a rightness within our souls and with God and neighbor. 

On Christmas Eve, we join the angel’s song “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God’s favor rests.” Luke 2.   We often think of peace as just an inner state, inner peace. In John 14 Jesus said “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.” Philippians 4 promises  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Knowing God’s presence and our belovedness is a beautiful gift, but God did not just come to bring peace to our hearts.  Christ came to build a kin-dom and to bring peace to our conversations, relationships, churches, communities and our world.   

In Matthew 5 Jesus declares “Blessed are the peace-makers because they will be called God’s children”.  The path of peace is not simply an inner awakening, but a way of life. In Luke 5 Jesus sends us out to do ministry and declares “Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house.’ If anyone there shares God’s peace, then your peace will rest on that person. If not, your blessing will return to you.”  When you talk to people, give them the gift of peace: be a peacemaker.  Speak words of peace, look for the pathways towards peace. Be a non-anxious presence.  Settle your soul, remembering how Jesus said, “forgive, give, and live asking nothing in return, because God is full of compassion” ( adapted from Luke 6)  

Peace is not something we possess, peace is a way of life that we give away- a gift we share with our neighbors. If we enter a house or conversation and  peacefulness is met with hostility, it does not mean we failed as peacemakers. Some people refuse to abide in peace. You can offer the gift of peace, but if your peace is rejected, Jesus tells us to move on to places where your peacefulness is welcomed. Make peace-making your way of life. 

In Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman, whose mother was born into chattel slavery and who became the dean of the chapel at Howard University and taught Dr King wrote: “A person’s conviction that they are God’s child automatically shifts our relationships with everyone. When we know that God counts the freckles on our cheek and hairs on our head, we come to know that our deepest selves are personalized gifts of God. Once we know our belovedness, we recognize that to fear another person, whatever power they hold over us is a basic denial of the integrity of our very own life. One who fears is literally delivered to destruction. But the child of God gets a new scale of values. These Christ-shaped scales measure life differently; they measure “true significance” by the way we treat others.  As a child of God, we realize the climax of human history comes in Matthew 25, where the inner significance of each of our deeds is revealed to us. We see how our lives impacted all of God’s other children.(Matthew 10)” Peace is a gift of God- peace-making shares God’s goodness with our neighbors and even enemies. 

Peace is not about pretending there are no problems. Peace resists evil, injustice and oppression.  The baby John, Zechariah prayed over, will one day call out corrupt clergy and kings. John will be martyred for peace.  James 3:13 The wisdom from above is first pure, and then peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good actions, fair, and genuine. Those who make peace sow the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts.   During the rise of German Nationalism in the late 1930’s Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “There is no way to peace along the way of safety.  For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe.  Peace is the opposite of security.  To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself.  Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment…”  Bonhoeffer was martyred for peace. Jesus was martyred for peacemaking.  We  are set free by such peace-makers. 

Freed to speak, Zecheriah holds the baby delighted in the holy moment, but Zecheriah prays that the child will live a meaningful life: a life of helping others find their way to God. See the light, know God’s mercy, guide our feet to peace.  Will our prayers stay in the shallow end, seeking only our own inner peace or will we push out into the deeper waters of peacemaking?  Will we make peace our way of life? Will we give the gift of our peacefulness to our family, to neighbors, to strangers and even to enemies?  Oh beloved, may the peace of God be with you! And also with you!  Come let us walk the path of peace: receiving God’s presence and peace for ourselves and sharing God’s peace with everyone we encounter. Amen