Zechariah, A Case Study in the Importance of Silence

Luke 1:5-25 – Part Four

 

Disciples seek to emulate Christ, spread His Gospel, apply His teachings and principles to daily affairs and expand His kingdom within the global village. Church traditions that relate dramatic, unparalleled and transformative conversion experiences posit “coming to Christ” instantaneously changes a person’s desires and character. He immediately relinquishes an inclination to sin and abandons all vices. He lets go of worldly interests and activities. He discards secular music collections in exchange solely for sacred, church and worship genres. He throws away playing cards, ends magazine subscriptions, cease going to movies, stops consuming alcohol or otherwise disengages any activity that does not honor the Lord. These concepts of discipleship and church membership oddly prevent some seekers from “coming to Christ” because they realize their inability to be a perfect Christian overnight. In contrast, conversion to Christ is a more glacial process.

 

As disciples learn and internalize Christ’s teachings and principles, they increasingly acquire the Lord’s heart, mind and character. Being a disciple is more than adhering to rituals, rites, rules and regulations. The Lord condemns the Pharisees and Sadducees for substituting their adherence to the Law and its concomitant self-justification for growing in a right relationship with a holy and loving God. That relationship in time yields desire within a disciple’s mind and heart to emulate God’s character, love and attributes. Sharing God’s love within the human family is the surest way to emulate Him. This process of transformation occurs in consistent and sustained practice of Christian spiritual disciplines. Prayer, meditation and silence are specific workshops where the Holy Spirit leads and guides disciples into truth and reminds them of Christ’s teachings.

 

Self-mastery includes preparation for the next phases of your journey. It is helpful to withdraw from daily routines particularly following a difficult experience such as bereavement, termination, divorce, major illness, surviving a natural disaster or a “failure” or “defeat” of any type. Biblical illustrations include Elijah’s retreat to a cave as Jezebel’s bloodthirstiness seeks his life. Joseph and Mary flee with Jesus to the wilderness of another country in response to Herod’s brutal genocidal decree. Following his Damascus Road experience, Paul enthusiastically proclaims the kingdom of Christ and declares to Israel that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. When his neophyte fever evaporates, Paul retreats to the shadows for years. During these times of separation, “the wilderness years,” undoubtedly, these biblical characters embraced prayer, meditation and silence as they listened to the Lord. In those times of introspection, reflection  and discernment, they find character, principles, purpose and inner power to fulfill their destiny. Practically speaking, they discover their unique “Self,” their distinct identity and personality that separates them from everyone else (Psalm 139). This self-knowledge combined with discernment of God’s will specifically for them prepares and empower them to progress toward self-realization and to accomplish their destiny. After these periods of withdrawal to attain self-mastery, these biblical characters contribute uniquely and significantly to the betterment of humankind as they obey and serve Almighty God.

 

Contemporarily, historians and biographers label years of inactivity, isolation and dismissal in the lives of prominent people as their wilderness years. Churchill experienced middle years in which he was out of power and public notice between the First and Second World War. Former President Clinton was originally the Governor of Arkansas. After a term, he lost re-election and his political career hung in the balance. Former President Nixon after losing the California’s governor’s race in 1962 spent the next four years wondering whether reporters who had written his political obituary had been correct. South Carolina broadcast and print media essentially returned Representative James Clyburn to the rock quarry of political ambition following his defeat in the Secretary of State election in the late 1970s. These interim years proved to be the most fertile for these historical and contemporary political figures. While separated from their purpose and passion, they looked intently and deeply within themselves to achieve self-determination. They had to recalibrate their dreams and goals. Mostly, they had to surmount depression, doubt and defeat to doggedly pursue their dreams. They garnered resilience and resumed their professional pursuits.

 

Scholars conclude that Churchill’s wilderness years prepared him to lead the United Kingdom through the Second World War which necessitated inner gravitas to withstand internal opposition amongst high level British governmental officials. Clinton gained sufficient self-mastery to cultivate requisite humility and focus that culminated in his election as the forty-second President of the United States. The personified archetype of resilience, Nixon singlehandedly rebuilt a Republican Party that had been devastated by Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide victory in the 1964 presidential election. Within four years, Nixon’s party rewarded him with their nomination and undivided support in the November 1968 election that yielded his ascendancy to the presidency the succeeding year. Despite residual and penetrating racial discrimination that would deny any possibility of his election statewide election, Congressman Clyburn redirected his focus and strategy. He decided to seek a congressional seat instead of a state position. He won a congressional seat in the fall of 1992. His service in the United States House of Representatives spans the subsequent thirty-three years. Interestingly, his seniority and ascension to leadership in his caucus enables him to direct federal funding for social and infrastructure programs to all citizens in that state. Choices and circumstances forced these men into a personal wilderness where they redefined themselves and refocused their purpose and destiny. When they came out of the wilderness, they were prepared and empowered internally to achieve their unique mission and contribute to the betterment of the global village. Within an existential period and space of self-mastery, they acquire the necessary resources of intuition, intelligence, imagination and integrity.