FOR THE WEEK
DECEMBER 1-5, 2025
“THE WAITING PLACE” Luke 1:5-25
SERMON BY Rev. Lara “Willis” Greene
“THE WAITING PLACE”
SERMON REFLECTION
The Christmas narrative opens with an unexpected beginning - not the familiar scene of a baby in Bethlehem, but with an elderly couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth who had spent their entire marriage facing the profound disappointment of childlessness.
As a priest and his wife, they were righteous people who lived blamelessly according to God’s commandments, yet they carried the deep pain of being unable to have children. In their culture, this wasn’t merely a personal disappointment but was viewed as a spiritual problem that brought shame and social stigma, with Elizabeth being labeled as barren - a brutal term that essentially marked her as spiritually dead in that society.
What makes their story so relatable is how they responded to years of seemingly unanswered prayers. Initially, they had prayed fervently for a child, but as time passed and their hopes were repeatedly disappointed, something shifted in their hearts. They gradually adjusted to their circumstances, accommodated their disappointment, and by silent mutual agreement, stopped praying for what seemed impossible.
“Faith
This pattern reflects where many of us find ourselves - not necessarily childless, but spiritually barren in other ways, having stopped expecting God to work in areas where we’ve experienced repeated disappointment. The turning point came when Zechariah was serving in the temple’s inner sanctuary and the angel Gabriel appeared with an extraordinary message: their prayers had been heard, and Elizabeth would bear a son named John.
Remarkably, even in this holy place, receiving a direct message from an angel, Zechariah doubted. His response reveals how we can fall into habits of hopelessness, becoming so accustomed to disappointment that we cannot imagine our prayers ever being answered.
The promise of Advent is that God specializes in bringing life to barren places - whether physical, emotional, or spiritual - and will show up in our emptiness to do what we cannot do for ourselves.
WHEN DREAMS GROW DUSTY
Life has a way of wearing down our dreams. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, we often start with vibrant hopes and fervent prayers, only to watch years pass without the answers we desperately seek. Maybe it’s a relationship that never healed, a career that never launched, or a personal struggle that never resolved. The pain isn’t just in the waiting - it’s in the slow realization that we’ve stopped believing change is possible.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous people who loved God and followed His commands faithfully. Yet they carried a deep wound that their culture viewed as spiritual failure. The term ‘barren’ wasn’t just medical - it was a social death sentence that suggested God’s displeasure. How crushing it must have been to serve God faithfully while feeling abandoned by Him.
‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.’ Jeremiah 33:14
But here’s what’s beautiful about their story: they didn’t let their disappointment destroy their marriage or their faith. They adjusted, they accommodated, and they continued loving each other and serving God even when their deepest longing remained unfulfilled. Sometimes faithfulness looks like continuing to show up even when our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling.
The Christmas story begins not with a baby’s cry, but with the silent ache of unfulfilled dreams. This reminds us that God sees our barren places - those areas where hope has withered and dreams have gathered dust. He knows about the prayers we’ve stopped praying and the expectations we’ve learned to lower.
What dream or prayer have you quietly given up on, and how might God be preparing to work in that very area of your life?
“Oh, they still say their prayers, but by silent mutual agreement, they no longer pray for a child. The cradle is long since dusty and the dream is deferred.”
Lord, You see the dusty corners of my heart where dreams once lived. Help me to trust that You haven’t forgotten my deepest longings, even when I’ve stopped believing they could come true. Prepare my heart for Your surprising work. Amen.
EVERYTHING IS GIFT
There’s a difference between losing faith and losing imagination. Zechariah didn’t stop believing in God - he simply stopped believing God would work in his specific situation. When the angel appeared with news that his prayers had been answered, Zechariah’s response wasn’t outright rebellion but rather stunned disbelief. How could this be possible after so many years of silence?
This is where many of us find ourselves. We haven’t abandoned our faith, but we’ve developed what could be called ‘the habit of hopelessness.’ We’ve become so accustomed to certain prayers going unanswered that we can’t imagine they ever would be. We’ve trained ourselves to expect disappointment as a form of emotional selfprotection.
Zechariah’s struggle wasn’t really about doubt - it was about
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
a failure of imagination. After decades of the same routine, the same disappointments, the same empty arms, he simply couldn’t picture a different future. His spiritual barrenness wasn’t about his relationship with God; it was about his ability to envision God doing something new.
How often do we limit God by our own limited imagination? We pray safe prayers, expect predictable outcomes, and unconsciously put God in a box sized by our past experiences. But the God of Advent specializes in the impossible, the unexpected, the long-delayed breakthrough that catches us completely off guard.
Sometimes our greatest spiritual challenge isn’t learning to have faith - it’s learning to have hope again.
In what areas of your life have you developed ‘the habit of hopelessness,’ and how might God be inviting you to expand your imagination of what He can do?
“His sin wasn’t so much disbelief as it was failure of imagination. It wasn’t so much disbelief as it was fear of disappointment. It wasn’t so much disbelief. It’s just that he’d gotten into the habit of hopelessness.”
prayer
Father, forgive me for the times I’ve limited You by my own limited imagination. Break through my habit of hopelessness and help me to dream again with You. Expand my vision of what You can accomplish in and through my life. Amen.
Heavenly Father, I confess that fear often paralyzes me. I look at the enormity of needs around me and feel that what I have to offer is too small. Help me to trust that You can use my limited resources for Your unlimited purposes. Give me courage to step out in faith today. Amen.
LIVING IN THE STATUS QUO
There’s a subtle danger in getting too comfortable with disappointment. Over time, we can become so adjusted to our limitations that we stop expecting anything different. We settle into patterns that feel safe because they’re predictable, even when they’re not fulfilling. This is spiritual barrenness - not the absence of faith, but the absence of expectation.
Zechariah and Elizabeth had created a life that worked around their disappointment. They had routines, responsibilities, and a relationship that functioned well within the boundaries of their unfulfilled longing. In many ways, they had made peace with their pain. But sometimes what we call ‘acceptance’ is actually resignation in disguise. Barrenness isn’t just about having children - it’s about any area where we’ve stopped believing God is actively
Luke 1:5-7
In the time of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
working. It’s the strained relationship where no one seems willing to forgive. It’s the professional dream that feels permanently out of reach. It’s the vacant space in our soul that we’ve learned to work around rather than address.
The danger of the status quo is that it can make us spiritually nearsighted. We become so focused on managing our current reality that we lose sight of God’s bigger picture. We forget that the same God who spoke the universe into existence is still speaking, still creating, still bringing life to dead places.
Advent reminds us that God’s timing is not our timing, but His promises are sure. What looks like delay to us might be preparation to Him.
What ‘status quo’ in your life might actually be preventing you from seeing God’s bigger plan, and how can you cultivate expectancy in that area?
“Over the years, we just. We just get used to the status quo. Over time, we stop hoping and expecting.”
God, help me to see beyond my current circumstances to Your greater purposes. Don’t let me become so comfortable with disappointment that I miss Your movement in my life. Stir up holy expectancy in my heart. Amen.
GOD SHOWS UP IN BARREN PLACES
The most beautiful truth about the Christmas story is where it begins - not in a palace or a place of plenty, but in the barren places of ordinary people’s lives. God didn’t choose to announce His arrival to those who had it all figured out. He came to an elderly couple who had given up hope, to a young girl facing an impossible situation, to shepherds working the night shift.
This is the promise of Advent: God will show up. Not just in the big moments or the perfect circumstances, but in the midst of our emptiness, our disappointment, our broken dreams. He comes down into the barrenness of our lives to do for us and through us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Elizabeth’s physical barrenness was obvious to everyone, but Zechariah’s spiritual barrenness was perhaps more
Luke 1:5-7
In the time of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
profound. He had lost the ability to imagine that God might still have surprises in store. Yet it was precisely in this place of spiritual drought that God chose to plant the seed of something miraculous.
God specializes in bringing life to dead places. He takes our barren relationships and breathes forgiveness into them. He takes our stalled dreams and gives them new direction. He takes our empty spaces and fills them with purpose we never imagined. The very places where we feel most hopeless are often where God is preparing to do His most amazing work.
Advent is about expectation - not because our circumstances look promising, but because our God is in the business of making all things new.
Where do you most need God to ‘show up’ in your life right now, and how can you prepare your heart to recognize His presence when He does?
“The promise of Advent is that God will show up. God will show up in the barrenness of our lives.”
Lord, thank You that You specialize in barren places. Come into the empty spaces of my life and do what only You can do. Help me to watch expectantly for Your surprising work, even in areas where I’ve lost hope. Amen.
THE GIFT OF SACRED SILENCE
When Zechariah doubted the angel’s message, he was struck silent for nine months. What seemed like punishment was actually grace in disguise. Sometimes God gives us silence not as judgment, but as preparation. In a world full of noise and quick responses, Zechariah was given the gift of sacred quiet - time to let God’s promise take root in his heart.
His silence was a pregnancy of its own. Just as Elizabeth carried John in her womb, Zechariah carried the promise in his spirit, unable to speak it away or diminish it with words. Sometimes when we try to put God’s work into words too quickly, we shrink it down to the size of our understanding. But God’s plans are always bigger than our capacity to comprehend.
During those nine months, God was working not just in Elizabeth’s body but in Zechariah’s soul. The barren terrain
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
of his heart was being prepared for something he had never dared to imagine. His silence created space for wonder, for the slow dawning of belief, for the gradual expansion of his faith to match God’s promise.
We live in a culture that demands immediate responses and instant understanding. But some of God’s greatest works happen in the quiet spaces, in the waiting periods, in the times when we don’t have words for what He’s doing. Sometimes the most faithful response to God’s movement in our lives is simply to be still and let Him work.
As we light the Advent candles, we’re reminded that something new is about to happen. In the silence of our own hearts, God is preparing miracles we cannot yet speak.
What might God be preparing in the ‘silent spaces’ of your life that you’re not yet ready to put into words?
“Zechariah’s silence was a gift. A nine month reprieve. A time for God to tread gently across the barren terrain of his soul and fulfill his deepest longing.”
Father, help me to embrace the sacred silences in my life where You are working beyond my understanding. Give me patience to wait for Your timing and wisdom to recognize Your grace even in the quiet seasons. Amen.
