Jon Jon was pestering his dad again. “Dad! Dad! Tell the story again! Tell the story about how I came to you. Don’t leave out the Roman Soldiers or the Angel of Light or how you couldn’t talk for months and months while momma carried me in her belly.”
“All right, Jon Jon,” said Zechariah. “Since your birthday’s coming soon, I’ll tell you the story again. But no interruptions!”
“I promise Dad! No interruptions. As long as you don’t forget the part about the Savior coming and the evil Caesar Augustus and how you waited for forever to have me and…”
“Alright John,” Zechariah said, “Since you know the story so well. Why don’t you start?”
John took a deep breath. He smiled. And he began, “This is a story about the light…?”
“That’s right,” said Zechariah, “We mustn’t forget the light. Because those were dark days that we were living in. We had a hope, a tiny pin prick of light that the Messiah would come, but in the meantime, there was conflict and violence, fear, and uncertainty. Just like there still is, now.”
“But now, we know the light is coming, right Dad?!”
“Yes. We know that the light is already here, and it’s going to be your job to point to it. But you’re interrupting, son.”
“Right. Sorry.” Said John.
“Do you know who the Son of God is, John?”
“Well, the coins we must use tell us that it’s Caesar Augustus, the ruler of the Roman Empire, the boss of all of us. His name means ‘One who is Divine’.”
“And we know better, though, don’t we son?” Zechariah smiled. “But here is the part where we have to whisper.”
“Right, so the Roman Empire says that as long as they’re in charge, they will keep us safe and under control.” John said.
“Yes. And how do they do that?” Zechariah asked.
“Well, they’ll hurt us if we don’t do what they say. They have swords and shields and spears and soldiers, and they have all the money, and all the power, and we have to believe what they say. They promise us peace, but only as long as we do what we’re told. They promise us peace, but only through war, only through violence. Peace through military might. But that’s not what the real Son of God will be like.”
“Oh no?” Zechariah asked. “And what will the real Son of God be like?”
“Well, I’m not really allowed to say it. We could get in big trouble.”
“Yes, son, it’s true. To say that anyone else but Caesar is the son of God is said to be treason, punishable by death. But let me pick up the story from here.”
“The Roman Empire had been fighting a civil war for the last twenty years. Taxes were high, and the soldiers would come to our village often and take every penny we had. We had to empower the empire’s war machine. If we didn’t cause a fuss, we were still allowed to go to Temple, we were still allowed to light the candles on Shabbat, but if we made any trouble, they would come down upon us like an iron fist. Sometimes, your mom and I wondered if it was a mixed blessing that God never blessed us with children. Maybe this life was too hard, too painful, to bring more children into this world. Entire villages were wiped out. That was the day the Romans came. It was a dark day. Your mother and I, we hid in the caves. They burnt down the houses, enslaved all the children, and took all the livestock. People were tortured. Women were raped.”
“Is that what happened to Aunt Mary?” John asked, eyes wide.
“We don’t know. She never talks about it. She only says that the Holy Spirit can transform anything” Zechariah replied. “Let’s keep going… I was lucky enough to be able to keep my job as a temple priest after all those dark days. But it was hard. All the other priests around me couldn’t see the pain of the poor; they only had fear of the empire. So they didn’t judge fairly, they didn’t make good decisions, they lost their way. It’s hard when you’re ruled by fear. But one day, it was my job to light the incense in the temple, and I went behind the heavy curtain.”
John interrupted, “And that’s when the angel came! And it was all dark and you were scared out of your wits. And the angel told you I was coming! But you didn’t believe him.”
“But I didn’t believe him. Your mom and I were too old for any of that nonsense.”
“But the angel said, ‘My mom will grow me in her belly and you’re supposed to name me John. I am going to be a joy and a delight to you and prepare the way of the Lord.”
“That’s right John. And you sure are.”
“But then you couldn’t talk anymore!” John said.
“No. Suddenly it felt like I had a mouth full of cotton and a dry sore throat and I couldn’t make a sound. I must have looked like a madman when I came out from behind that curtain. They’d been waiting for me for a long time, and when I came out I’m sure I had a crazed look in my eyes. You know, the angels always tell us not to fear, but that’s some seriously scary stuff. Well somehow, with my wild gesticulating they were able to figure out that I’d seen a vision, but that's about all they could understand from me. They had no idea what I was trying to say. Your mom was probably pleasantly surprised when I came home and couldn’t talk. I didn’t say a word the whole time you were growing in her belly.”
“But then I was born!” John said. “And mom said I was John, and everybody freaked out because we don’t have any relatives named John.”
“Yes. And they brought me a writing tablet, and on it I wrote, ‘His name is John.’”
“And then you could talk again!”
“Yes. I could talk again. But I didn’t talk right away. First, I sang.” Zechariah said.
“You sang my song!” John laughed.
“Do you remember the words to the song?”
“Of course, we sing it all the time:
Praise be to God who has come to be with us.
God has brought us a king to save us, just like God said God would do.
But not a king like Caesar, a king who oppresses and controls,
But a king who loves.
God is bringing us the true Son of God,
who will bring a kingdom where we won’t have to suffer anymore.
This Son of God will bring peace, not a sword, violence and war will be no more.
The Son of God is coming!
We won’t have to bow down to those who hurt us any more.
We will bow down to the true savior of the world!
God keeps God’s promises!
We will be free to worship God, to thrive, and to love, without fear.
And then here comes my favorite part! This is when you sing to me!”
John and Zechariah sang the words together:
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the most high,
You’ll make a path for this new king, and he will save us
Just as sure as the sun comes up in the morning.
He will be our light, even in all this darkness.
He will teach us how to live in peace.
“Good job, son. It’s going to be your job to be that bright arrow that points to the true Son of God. You are not the light. The one true light is coming. And you will make a way for him to come. Remember, not all power comes from fighting and violence. God will teach us a new way, the way of light in the darkness. But you must be brave. You must be very, very brave.”
“But Dad, how will I know him when I see him? How will I know who to point to?” John asked.
“Oh, you’ll know. Your heart will tell you. In fact, if you listen hard, I bet your heart already knows who he is. Listen hard. Follow the light. The Savior is closer than you think.”
Thanks be to God.
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