Another Reason

This past Thursday I spoke in chapel. This is always a fun and terrifying time for me but if there is something I embrace with all of myself is the desire to tell a story in a way that encourages people to stop a moment, think awhile and nudge a soul towards things that are eternal.
I spoke on Zachariah in the temple but when I studied this portion again something else struck me about Zachariah's response. Gabriel was telling Zach about the coming of the messiah but more then anything Gabriel was telling Zachariah that the prayer that Elizabeth and he had been praying for years and probably had stopped was being answered. Maybe the reason he did not believe was because his heart has been broken for so long. Disappointment with unanswered prayer makes the heart sick. Maybe the 'no' from Zachariah was his fear that hope would again disappoint especially for his Elizabeth who had carried this shame every day in every conversation in every family gathering.
Today...that prayer was to be answered.
One little boy taking away the shame of one mother and one father.
In a few months...one little boy would take away the shame of everyone.