“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” - Luke 1:68
I wonder if Zechariah - even as a priest - felt that God was distant. As a priest, Zechariah had proximity to the presence of God others did not. But even in this nearness, did he wonder if God was distant from his own life?
Zechariah had grown old serving the Lord. He had grown old in bringing the people of God before God. And now he was growing old without the blessing of a child with all of the cultural implications of that reality. Had God been present and aware of the prayers, pleadings, and longings of a husband and wife?
Whether spoken aloud in guttural cries or bartering grief, whether too private and painful to speak to their closest friends, whether every family gathering and public outing was a reminder of unfulfilled expectation, did God see? Did God care? Did God hear? Would God answer?
One day Zechariah would know the answer to that question, because one day, God moved near. When God moved near to Zechariah and Elizabeth, he moved near to invite them into the story of His redemption. This couple would prepare the Preparer of the way of the Lord. The voice of the one crying out in the wilderness would carry the tone and timbre of the voice that had fallen silent when encountering the angel of the Lord in the temple.