Zechariah wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. (Luke 1:63-64).

We left Zechariah speechless at the temple. When the birth of John was announced to him, he could not believe it, so the Lord gave him a sign for reflection: He would be unable to speak until all was fulfilled. Then he would know that God does what God says. Our text picks up the story some nine months later. Much has changed.

Zechariah has changed. As a righteous man, he has learned from his mistake. Through the pain of the discipline, he emerges a stronger man of God. He testifies to God’s grace. Those who are arrogant, thinking they know it all, have no need for God or for instruction. Zechariah is not one of those.

Our advent reflections tend to focus on the women: Mary and Elizabeth. But Zechariah has much to teach us about our faith. He is portrayed as a mature and pious man who still has much to learn about trusting God. He is a spiritual man who discovers we can never coast on past spirituality.

Often, we are tempted to put our spiritual well-being on cruise control. Christians can get to a place where they do not expect anything new from God, no new calling, no new spiritual insights, no more maturation. It is a joy to see an elderly saint who lives in expectation of knowing the Lord more fully and serving Him more deeply. What an encouragement such a person is to a younger saint. How thrilling to meet those who see their walk with God as a challenge and that the thrill of divine involvement in life has not waned. It causes one to desire to keep on keeping on.

Zechariah reveals that even good old saints can still grow up and learn to walk in deeper trust with God. That simple lesson comes to the fore in his naming his child John even though others want to name him something else. The whole family and the whole neighbourhood have come for the event. As Luke tells the story, they have taken charge. They want the boy named after his father. But Elizabeth objects. However, but she is just a batty old woman. That is not the way we do things around here. So, they turn to the boy’s father, the whole crowd of them, “Zechariah, junior, right?”

Nope.

His whole family (and his in-laws) and his whole village are standing in his way. But Zechariah will walk where God tells him to walk. The pressure of custom will not become a reason to disobey God. Peer pressure and the attitudes of the world can often make us act in ways that differ from where God would take us. Whether in values, entertainment, or the way we do business, the world’s ways are not God’s ways. Zechariah has learned to hear God and not the custom of the world.

During the months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, while God’s promise was slowly coming to pass, Zechariah was learning that God makes good on his promise in his own timing and in his own way. He has learned this lesson, and his obedience becomes public, “His name is John” which means, “graced by God.” Zechariah has been graced by God.