December 7, 2025 · Rev. Derek van Gulden · Luke 1:5-25
Jesus was born into a world where those who spoke up disappeared and a few had everything. Rev. Derek van Gulden turns to Zechariah, struck silent until his son John was born, who still found ways to do what he was called to do, and asks us to use the voice we have, together, for those who have none.
Transcript
People of God, would you join me in a moment of prayer? Gracious and holy God, this morning I ask you to move the words of my mouth by the meditation of all our hearts, and help each of us this day not to be the instrument of our own or anyone else's oppression, but to be an instrument of peace in every step and every breath, in every moment of every day. May it be so. Amen.
We heard earlier and now again in the Scripture that Jim just read, that when Jesus is born into the world, the world was in turmoil. Supposedly there was peace, but it was peace brought on by oppression and military power, people would disappear. People who spoke up were crushed. Those who needed had little because those in power had a lot. And I'm talking food and everything else. It's good for us to know this because it's good to see where we are. The world Jesus was born into is really no different than today. People were silenced through oppression, through power.
So what can we do? Protest. What do we do about the silence? Speak up, speak out, Speak up, show up. It is a gift that we all have. Just by where we live, by who we are, and many other things. Many people have been silenced in this country as they were back then. Not just the average person. Not that anybody's average politicians, people of power were silenced. They either disappeared or they were pushed aside.
And today we have a voice. We have a voice to break that silence. To let those in power know. No more, no more.
Jesus brought that to the world. In that moment, God entered the created world In the person of Jesus. The infant God chose that moment to step into what he created to experience everything at that moment. Not at another moment. A moment when everything was chaos. Most people had nothing and a few had everything. And Jesus. The angels cry out that he is the King of kings. I'm sure, as we said last week, that didn't really thrill Caesar or Herod, who was king of the Jews. But like they did in that day, we need to trust that God gives us a voice, and we need to trust that when we use it, people will hear that voice when we gather together. The voice gets louder.
Zechariah was a priest, but the fascinating thing about Zechariah was he was a bi vocational priest, which I think over fifty percent or more of pastors in this country are bi vocational, meaning they have two jobs. So Zechariah was doing his priestly duties when he went to light the incense. He was probably also there to watch the other priest gorge themselves on all the offerings that had been brought. And then when his week was up, he went back home and he picked olives. As Scripture says, those in his community. He saw the gluttony of the priests and he saw and lived with the people who had little.
Now Zechariah's voice was taken from him by God through Gabriel, because he didn't really believe at the beginning. And the fascinating thing is, he still did what he was called to do. He found other ways to communicate. And once the child was born, who was named John. His last name wasn't the Baptist. But that's how we know him. Zechariah, if you read on in Luke, you will hear this beautiful song of songs that he said when he was first had his voice back. And it's a call to action, and it's a call to trust and believe in God.
As we go forward into this week and into the rest of this advent season and well beyond. May we be blessed. To have the desire, the will. To share our voice. To speak for those that have no voice. To stand up together so our voices get louder and louder. And know that God walks with us. God gives us the tools. We just have to trust.
Now someone said, it sounds so easy. We know that's not true, but it's work that needs to be done. And we can do it. Each of us. One breath, one step. One moment. To break the silent voice of all. Amen.