Who wants to be a Zechariah Jr? - Advent Devotional Day 24

Scripture
"57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy. 58 Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy. 59 On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name. 60 But his mother replied, 'No, his name will be John.'
61 They said to her, 'None of your relatives have that name.' 62 Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him.
63 After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, 'His name is John.' 64 At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God.
65 All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked about what had happened. 66 All who heard about this considered it carefully. They said, 'What then will this child be?' Indeed, the Lord’s power was with him." - Luke 1:57-66

Reflection
Naming a kid seems like a lot of fun. The entire name catalog is your playground. Heck, if you’re Elon Musk you can even just make them up as you go and start throwing letters and numbers out together into gibberish names. But for us and our first kid Evie, and for Zechariah and Elizabeth, it’s never quite so easy.

First of all, you’ve got EVERYONE else who has ideas about which name works best. Do you go with a family name of the great aunt you’ve never met? Do you take the name that you really like that unfortunately rhymes with “fart” and would undoubtedly lead to merciless teasing on the playground? (Martin wasn’t always a third-grade winner in that department.) And what happens when the app you use to come up with names leads you to 23 different options you really like but not quite… the one.

I don’t think Zechariah and Elizabeth were navigating baby naming apps, but the pressure was immense nonetheless. Baby boys in Israel just took the names of their fathers. It’s kind of just how it was. And with their names came expectations, not unlike today. Not only were they going to share a name, but probably a trade and a whole trajectory for their life. But John was different.

His destiny wasn’t going to be predictable. His path wasn’t predetermined, at least not by his parents. God had a purpose for him without a doubt, but it wasn’t what everyone else expected. Sometimes it’s easy to get in the rut of doing everything that everyone has ever expected of us. When we’re named, our parents have hopes for us. Growing up, people have this incredible habit of telling us what we should be. We start jobs and careers and start fitting into the roles that “fit.”

People expected things of John, starting with his name. But from the very beginning, his parents wanted to set him apart. They wanted to give him a daily reminder that he wasn’t meant to just fit the mold of expectations but to answer the nudges of God’s calling. Sometimes we get so caught up fitting in we miss God’s invitation to whimsy and wonder. This Advent season, walk with the same reminder that John had: you weren’t made for typical, but for the tremendous extravagantness of a life with God. Don’t be Zechariah Jr. Be John.

Prayer
Father, shake us and wake us up from the gravitational pull of fitting in. Help us hear the whispered nudging of your voice calling us closer daily. And let us hear it!