Silent Time, Holy Time by JONATHAN T. PENNINGTON for Christianity Today
An Advent reading for December 20
Read Luke 1:5–25, 57–66.
If you grew up with snow at Christmas, you know there’s nothing quite like the silence of a cold winter night. This is not just a sentimental idea—it’s part of God’s creational design. Fresh snow absorbs and dampens sound. Father Joseph Mohr was one such man who reflected on the phenomenon of a cold winter night. Mohr was the young priest who penned the words that became the beloved carol we often sing this time of year, “Silent Night.”
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In the backstory to Jesus’ birth, we meet another priest, Zechariah, and his wife, Elizabeth. Luke tells us that they were both of priestly descent and were faithful and godly people. But they also suffered greatly—their long marriage had been childless and they were now old. Then a miracle happened: The angel Gabriel told Zechariah that God would answer their decades-long, anguished prayers. They were going to have a son!
This story could end there, and it would be a delightful Christmas tale of sadness being replaced with joy. But there’s an unexpected and dark note in the tune that we can’t ignore. Because Zechariah struggled to believe Gabriel’s message (and who wouldn’t?), he was struck mute for the entirety of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. He was silent. Zechariah went from being a respectable, articulate priest of God to an old man who could only communicate with hand signals. This was humbling—even humiliating. What are we to make of this troubling turn?
