Zechariah,
A Case Study in the Importance of Silence
Luke 1:5-25 – Part Five
Achieving wholesale forgiveness of
anyone who ever harmed you verbally, situationally or relationally is a very
significant blessing of self-mastery. The failure to forgive people of their
incapacities, deficits and defects of character imprisons anyone who harbors
anger, resentment, bitterness, vengeance and other toxic emotions. These
feelings are a type of contaminated sewage that poisons the mind, heart and
psyche. Each recollection of past injury reinjures the person who pauses and
plays that vivid video. The sewage seeps deep into the soil of your personality
and memory. It destroys creativity and consideration of any strategies and
methods of achieving your dreams and goals. Negative emotions like imaginary
mercenaries in a video game fire immediately and kill any miniscule concepts or
visions of a better life. Cynicism eventually emerges. The inability to
transcend the past and push toward a brighter future is lost. Holistic
forgiveness is the antidote to serving a life sentence of anger and resentment.
When disciples forgive, they liberate
themselves from perpetuating any hurt and danger they experienced. In the process of self-mastery, take time to
consider all facts, factors and circumstances that contributed to your injury.
Does the person who harmed you suffer with any mental illness? Are they victims
of addiction? Were they equally and deeply wounded? Are they people who live
with an arrested development? Was fear, greed, pathological lying and other
self-centered motives the causes of your perpetrator’s actions? Do you allow
that your victimizers are fully human and prone to self-seeking behavior?
Hastily, I add that I do not minimize your pain and suffering. I realize people
are victims of heinous crime including sexual assault, paralyzing and life
altering violence, financial misdeeds, stolen identity and even murder. Still,
forgiveness is always central to experiencing holistic healing. Admittedly, the
process of extending unconditional forgiveness may consume decades. Yet, it is
necessary to free disciples and enable them to progress toward self-realization
and destiny.
Zechariah’s haste to speak and doubt
the angel catapults him into a period of extensive silence. He is struck dumb
to compel him to consider his incomplete faith. For several months, Zechariah
lives in an existential space of silence and withdrawal. As he is unable to
speak casually, hastily and aimlessly, he has time to thoroughly reflect upon his spiritual, intellectual and
emotional architecture. He can examine his worldview. He can evaluate his
character. What does he believe? Are his beliefs authentically his own? Has he
uncritically accepted the beliefs of other people whom he loves and respects?
What causes Zechariah to doubt the angel’s message? More specifically, what
causes him to doubt God’s ability to perform this miracle? What is his process
of determining his position on faith, spirituality and world events? Who is he?
Who does he desire to become? It is in silence during times devoted precisely
to the process of self-mastery that Zechariah receives answers to these
questions.
Zechariah’s encounter with the angel,
Gabriel, amid daily routines provides a case study in the importance of silence
in a disciple’s life.
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