December 10 – Luke 1:21-25. Zechariah’s Silence.

December 10 – Luke 1:21-25. Zechariah’s Silence.

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. 


When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

We had a young man work for us at Insty-Prints who was deaf.  Since we wanted to be able to communicate, we hired a young woman to teach us sign language.  One evening I drove him home and he invited me to meet his roommates – both of whom were also deaf.  I walked in with him and though I could get through a conversation with him because he was very helpful and went slowly, when the three of them began communicating I couldn’t understand anything.  It was awful.  I felt like the outsider.

During those months that he worked for us, I gained a new perspective on someone who has difficulty communicating with the world.

Zechariah had absolutely no one with whom he could communicate.  He made signs and they got the basic gist of his encounter with the angel, but he was alone.

He went home and Elizabeth conceived a child.  Zechariah was probably communicating in basic ways with his family and the people in his community, but his thoughts and feelings were more than likely trapped within his own mind.

When Zechariah finally gets a chance to speak out loud again, he will have plenty to say.