6-december-2015-advent-2-fr-daniel-dries

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A sermon preached by the Rev’d Dr Daniel Dries Advent 2 Christ Church St Laurence – 6 December 2015

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight: O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. From the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke: ‘…the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John”.’ My father’s name is Michael; his father’s name was also Michael. It is a tradition spanning several generations. I was not given the Christian name Michael for a number of complex reasons, but this break with tradition was not taken lightly. Michael is my middle name reflecting some sort of compromise. The naming of a child can be a source of great anguish for new parents. The Sydney Morning Herald recently published an article emphasising the need to get it right. The article suggested that a child will suffer greatly as a result of a very unusual name, as well as from those wonderfully quirky spellings—citing examples like Catherine with an X and Tiffany with a triple I. A little while ago, the Italian court of appeal instructed a couple to rename their child. Presumably because of the day of the week on which it was born, the Italian parents named their son ‘Friday’. Believing that the child would be ridiculed, the judges ordered them to rename their baby Gregorio, reflecting the saint’s day that fell on the child’s birthday. But what of Zechariah? Was it so unreasonable for him to name his son in accordance with family tradition? This is what everyone would have expected. There would have been nothing quirky or provocative about continuing this family tradition.  “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John”.’ Like many of you, I have heard the story of Zechariah again and again since I was a child. After his encounter with the angel Zechariah becomes mute. At the birth of his son he writes on a tablet ‘His name is John’, and his speech is suddenly restored. Although I’ve heard this story many times, I confess that I have never really stopped to consider why the name John was so important in this rather dramatic turn of events. The annunciation to Zechariah is a very typical dream-like vision that we see throughout Scripture—particularly in the Old Testament. A mystical scene is set; there is a vision with a commission and an invitation; there is a reaction and a response. Eventually, there will be a 1|Page


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6-december-2015-advent-2-fr-daniel-dries by Christ Church St Laurence - Issuu