A Nobel lecture about a narrator who sees more and further than any of the characters becomes an unexpected key to Christmas. This sermon takes us to the house of Zechariah, who could not speak a word for nine months and regained his voice only when he wrote his son’s name on a tablet (Luke 1). It turns out the good news is not about knowing everything about God, but about knowing how to live. Listen, and ask yourself whether you have lost your own voice somewhere along the way.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Why were the neighbors and relatives so surprised when Elizabeth and Zechariah named the child John (Luke 1:59-66), and what does the name show about God doing something new?
- Zechariah's song (Luke 1:68-79) recalls Abraham, David and the prophets. What did it mean for Jewish listeners, after four hundred years of silence, that God had "visited his people"?
- The speaker referred to Olga Tokarczuk's speech about a world of first person narratives. Where in your life is the story most centered on "me," and what changes when you see God as the narrator of the whole story?
- The sermon stressed that God has a plan and carries it out regardless of us, as in the stories of Sarah, Hannah and David. How does this truth shape your worries about the future?
- John called people to repentance in very practical ways: give away one of two coats, collect no more than required, do not harm others. What does it mean to you that coming to God is not only knowing about Him but knowing how to live?
- Zechariah's voice returned when he obeyed God. What concrete step of obedience can you take this week to celebrate Christmas in the right way?
