Down and Out in Bethlehem's Hills?

Luke 1 - Christmas is coming! 
After 400 years of silence and apparent inactivity God is about to break in afresh to human affairs. 

This new chapter in God's Great Story will begin in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, followed by Mary. An unlikely trio to kick-off the greatest event in human history.

Zechariah & Elizabeth – yesterday’s people! A couple ‘well on in years’ (v7) – the prime of life behind them, thoughts more on retirement than revolution. Perhaps they had once imagined that they would do great things for God – the young couple with a great ‘evangelical pedigree’. Elizabeth a descendant of Aaron himself. Zechariah with his calling to Temple ministry. But the years had passed and many dreams had no doubt been left unfulfilled.

Mary - not on the radar! A peasant girl from ‘no hope’ Nazareth (John 1:46). Someone not even with the basic status, in first century eyes, of being a married woman. A woman neither of wealth or fame – making up the numbers in the hinterland of God’s people.

Yet these are the very people God uses, and loves to use - confounding the wisdom of the world, confounding even our own expectations. As someone once said, ‘God doesn’t have a shelf’ – no-one is ‘over the hill’ in God’s plans, no-one is too ordinary to be used by God. 

So for those who think they’re past it and their usefulness to God has long gone – remember Zechariah & Elizabeth. For those who think they're just ‘nobodies’ destined to be insignificant – remember Mary.

Finally, I couldn’t help smiling at Zechariah’s reaction to his angelic visitation. Here is a man confronted by the visit of an angel – leaving him understandably terrified (v12). The angel announces that Elizabeth will have a child – and Zechariah’s reaction is, ‘How can I be sure of this?’ (v18). ‘Well Zechariah, how about the fact that that AN ANGEL has just miraculously appeared before your eyes!’ It seems ridiculous that Zechariah can see an angel but think his wife getting pregnant is just too much to believe. Yet, of course it’s so authentically human…

Christians are generally quite happy to believe that Jesus could die for the sins of the world, walk on water, feed 5000, be raised from the dead, will come back in the future and bring history to an end…etc. While simultaneously doubting that God’s can really enable them to overcome a sinful habit, or restore a marriage, or provide for their needs if they were to step out in faith to serve Him full-time...etc

Poor Zechariah, all those years of waiting and he almost blows it! But God is so gracious and will keep him right. We are such slow learners at times but fortunately God is an exceptionally patient teacher.

Praise God who delights to use has-beens, the obscure, and even the ‘slow to believe’. There's no such thing as 'down and out' in the life of faith.