Sermon – PEACE – Luke 1:5-25; 57-80

On this second Sunday of Advent, I invited us into the kind of waiting that listens and the kind of silence where God is not absent but at work. The carol’s line, “the silent Word is pleading,” helped us name the paradox: the world Jesus entered wasn’t quiet at all; it was noisy with empire, grief, and longing. Yet beneath the noise there is a deeper silence where God’s peace is gestating. Luke situates the gospel inside the Pax Romana—an imperial “peace” created by force and the silencing of the vulnerable—so that we can recognize the difference between comfort for a few and healing for many.

We stood with Zechariah and Elizabeth in lifelong disappointment, and we watched God interrupt their resignation with a surprising promise. Zechariah’s imposed silence has often been read as punishment; this year I asked us to consider it as formation—God’s classroom. Before we can speak peace, we must listen to the cries we’ve ignored, in ourselves and in our neighbor. That is why we practiced a brief moment of quiet: not as an empty pause, but as space where God readies our hearts for prophetic speech.

Waiting is not the blank hallway between “now” and “next.” It is one of the places where God does God’s best work when we are present to it. I shared how that presence took shape for me—on long walks, in patient listening—and how it grew a grounded peace, even amid unresolved circumstances. We named what we are waiting for this Advent, because honest longing is often the doorway to God’s nearness.

We also blessed one another—“I want peace for you this Advent”—because peace is communal. God’s peace interrupts false peace; it lifts the lowly and widens the table. I see that peace growing among us in tangible ways: generosity that meets real needs, prayers that hold one another through hard weeks, and a shared willingness to keep trying, keep forgiving, keep listening. Peacemaking in a divided world is not passive; it is courageous listening that discerns where to speak, and how, for the sake of healing.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Let silence become God’s classroom Silence is not a void to fear; it’s the womb where discernment takes shape. In quiet, we learn to hear what our hurry has hushed—our grief, our neighbor’s pain, God’s nudge. Zechariah’s hush shows that sometimes God pauses our speech to deepen our seeing. From that silence, our words can carry peace instead of noise. [14:25]
• 2. Waiting is not wasted time We often treat waiting as downtime between real life moments. But Scripture and our own stories reveal waiting as a workshop where trust, patience, and presence are formed. When we attend to the present, we notice God’s subtle, steady work in us. Waiting becomes a place of growth, not just delay. [18:35]
• 3. Reject false peace; pursue justice Empire calls control “peace,” but God’s peace never requires anyone’s silence or erasure. The gospel exposes peace that depends on inequity and replaces it with wholeness for the marginalized. Peacemaking therefore includes truth-telling, reordering power, and tangible care for the lowly. Real peace is for everyone or it is not peace. [22:06]
• 4. Listen deeply before speaking peace Prophetic speech is born from attentive hearing—of God, of the wounded, of our own hearts. Quick words often protect us from vulnerable presence; deep listening positions us to speak with mercy and weight. The courage to pause is what gives our speech integrity. Listening is not passivity; it is preparation for faithful action. [16:49]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [09:25] - Advent invites waiting and silence
• [11:01] - Pax Romana and false peace
• [12:06] - Zechariah and Elizabeth’s long waiting
• [13:27] - Gabriel’s announcement and doubt
• [14:25] - Silence as formation, not punishment
• [15:58] - Practicing a moment of quiet
• [17:22] - From constant waiting to presence
• [18:35] - God’s work in the waiting
• [20:32] - Naming what we’re waiting for
• [22:06] - God’s peace versus empire’s peace
• [23:00] - Zechariah’s prophecy of peace
• [24:18] - Blessing each other with peace
• [25:36] - Peace growing through generosity
• [27:15] - Listen deeply, then speak

Bible reading (ESV)
- Luke 1:5–25, 57–79

Luke 1:5–25
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they marveled that he tarried in the temple. 22 And when he came out he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Luke 1:57–79
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “Not so; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. 67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Observation questions

1. What details does Luke give about Zechariah and Elizabeth’s life, reputation, and situation before the angel appears? (look at Luke 1:5–7, 24–25)
2. How is the Roman claim of “peace” described in the message’s reflection on history—what made that peace restricted rather than whole? [11:01]
3. What happened to Zechariah immediately after he questioned Gabriel, and how did the community respond when he could not speak? (see Luke 1:18–23)
4. During the brief guided quiet, what inner things were people invited to notice (breath, longing, fears)? How did that exercise aim to prepare people to speak with integrity? [15:58]

Interpretation questions (third-person, objective)

1. How does interpreting Zechariah’s silence as formation rather than punishment change one’s reading of his later prophetic song (the Benedictus)? [14:25]
2. In what ways can waiting operate as a “workshop” that forms trust, patience, and presence instead of merely a gap of delay? What does Luke 1 suggest is being formed in Zechariah and Elizabeth during their waiting? [18:35]
3. What distinguishing features separate an imperial, coercive “peace” from the kind of peace Zechariah proclaims “to give light to those who sit in darkness”? How does Luke’s portrait of God’s action reframe the goals of peacemaking? [22:06]
4. How does a season of enforced silence or inward listening make a person more able to perceive systemic injustice and to speak words that heal rather than self-justify? [23:20]

Application questions (specific and practical)

1. Practice silence: commit to one short daily silence this week (1–5 minutes). Where and when will you do it, and what will you try to listen for (God’s nudges, grief, other people’s needs)? [15:58]
2. Name what you are waiting for this Advent. Write it down on a slip of paper or in your journal. Where will you put that paper so it helps you remember to be present while you wait? [20:32]
3. Identify one person or group in your circle who has been silenced or marginalized. What is one concrete listening step you can take this week to learn their story (a conversation, an invitation, an ask to hear their experience)? [22:06]
4. When a conversational impulse wants a quick defensive reply, practice a pause: what are two short phrases or actions you can use to pause and listen (e.g., “Tell me more,” three deep breaths, “I want to hear your view”)? Try one in a real conversation this week and report back next meeting. [27:15]
5. Find one tangible way to join the church’s peace-growing work (a giving opportunity, volunteering with a ministry like the gift program, or a practical act of care). What step will you take in the next seven days to participate? [25:36]
6. Choose one person in the group or congregation and intentionally say to them, “I want peace for you this Advent,” then keep that person in prayer for the season. Who will you pick, and how will you remember to keep praying? [24:18]

(End of guide)