As any sports team will tell you, there is a clubhouse leader. Behind the scenes, these are the players that might not lead in home runs, but they lead the team by encouraging younger players, giving pep talks, and taking leadership roles on and off the field. Sometimes management gives these seasoned players the title of Captain. And sometimes, the captain doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with the coach. Sometimes the clash between the coach’s way and the captain’s way becomes a very public spectacle.
This year for Advent, we are focusing on the “baseball players” in the story of Jesus’ birth, and for the first week of Advent, we’re looking at Zechariah – the Captain.
Every year the priests of the Temple would draw lots to see who would perform the duties prescribed for the festival of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – Israel’s holiest and most solemn festival. While one would consider it an honor to be chosen for such a task, it was a dangerous assignment. The priest had to carefully perform the intricate details prescribed in the Torah without deviation, including entering the Most Holy Place in the Temple to make atonement for himself and all of Israel. The High Priest was the mediator between Israel and God. He was like the one chosen for the all-star game, or the captain chosen to mediate between the coaches and the umpires, or the spokesperson selected to speak to the media on behalf of the team.
One year, Zechariah, who was Mary’s brother-in-law (and Jesus’ uncle), was chosen to perform such duties. As he stood in the Holy of Holies, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Seeing this, he assumed he had done something wrong and that the angel was there to kill him. However, that was not the case. Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that he would have a son, even though his wife was barren and they were very old. Yet despite how many stories we read about God blessing someone considered infertile with a child, Zachariah had his doubts and was struck dumb because he didn’t believe God.
Imagine that. Here Zechariah was in the most holy place, doing the most spiritual task, encountering a heavenly being, and he still had trouble believing God. Here was a man who understood the stories of Sarai, Rachel, Hannah, and the many women who had children even though it was considered impossible. He most likely taught these stories, but when it came to believing that God could do it through Him, He lacked faith. He needed a coach to help him see the future game plan.
Sometimes even the team leaders have trouble seeing the big picture. They can get bogged down with the batting slumps, the losing streaks, and the negative media pressure. Sometimes they don’t understand what the front office is doing to build the team. And like Zechariah, they can find themselves in a place of doubt. That’s what happened to Zechariah, and he needed some time to adjust his attitude.
The great Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser experienced this with his coach Tommy Lasorda. One time he gave up so many runs, that Tommy Lasorda came out of the dugout in a tirade and yelled at his young pitcher for being too timid. The verbal lashing was so loud that his teammates nicknamed it “the sermon on the mound.” On another occasion, the coach told Hershiser, “Son, I wish I could give you a transplant, not an arm transplant. You need a heart transplant.”
Before Zechariah could take part in the advent of the Messiah, he needed a heart transplant. For nine months, Zechariah couldn’t say a word. He couldn’t tell people what happened that day in the Holy of Holies when he encountered an angel. Before he could lead others, before he could tell the stories of how God could do the impossible, before he could be a voice of encouragement, he needed to have his heart changed and experience God’s miraculous hand.
Sometimes coaches bench the captains. They take them out of the public eye to help them focus again on what’s important. This was the case with Zechariah. And when God was done with him, he was ready to not only lead God’s people but also to lead his family and father and coach his son John the Baptist.