Silence is golden, says Leah Robberts-Mosser

The same angel that talks to Mary talks to Zachariah, who will be the father of John the Baptiser. Whereas Mary’s questions are met with answers, Zachariah’s are met with silence – his own. He is struck with silence through the remainder of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, through the birth of their child, and a week and a day after that. Only after the child is circumcised and named is Zachariah able to speak again.

This heavenly imposed silence could be viewed as a rebuke, but it is better perceived as a gift, a blessing…

Leah Robberts-Mosser is Lead Pastor at Community United Church of Christ, Champaign, Illinois. This article is edited, with permission, from a sermon preached in December 2023

Image: Wikimedia Commons

___

This is an extract from an article published in the December 2024/January 2025 edition of Reform

Subscribe to Reform