Some of us rarely sit quietly while alone. The silence and solitude can be unsettling. If we stop and rest in the quiet, we must listen to what is happening inside us. Sometimes we pull out our smartphones to avoid a quiet moment. Poor Zechariah was mute for nine months. Can you imagine not speaking for nine months? But the time of reflection changed his life. How might some quiet time change our life?\
Christmas brings blessed gifts that never wear out or become passé. Consider what each of the Christmas characters demonstrates in their lives.
Signs of quitting are everywhere…a half read book placed back on the bookshelf, a car jacked up on blocks rusting away, a diet which was abandoned or a faith that has grown cold. The Christmas story deals with the issue of giving up. Zechariah and Elizabeth were close to giving up in their old age when a surprising event changed everything. Instead their waiting paid off.
Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on December 18, 2016 by Rev. Fred A. Steinberg