In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     God has a plan! Today we observe the lesser festival of the Nativity, or birth of St. John the Baptist, and if there is one theme that pervades this festival, and the birth of John, and his relationship to Jesus-it would be this-that God, has a plan!

     And who would think you could get yourself into trouble saying that, on some of our seminary campuses these days--when that notion that God has a definitive plan, is thought to be somewhat out of fashion, and outdated. When I was in seminary, we referred to the study of God's plan for the salvation of the world, "systematic theology", and all seminarians devoted considerable time to systematics, which is defined in the Dictionary of Christian Theology as the study of the systematic form of the propositions contained in the Scriptures that are collectively the total revelation of God to man, given through the Holy Spirit. In other words, it is the study of God's ordered, purposeful revealed Truth. Which, this dictionary, published in 1976, also explains is considered impossible to do, today, because scholars no longer regard as inerrant or objectively true, all Biblical propositions as revealed Truth. Consequently, "systematic theology" is no longer taught, as a subject, in most mainstream, liberal seminaries. Which sadly, means we might be missing the Truth, and we just might not be teaching future pastors the truth, which means these new pastors may not be preaching the truth to their congregations in years to come-the Truth, that God has a systematic, well-ordered plan! And yet, in spite of what some scholars think, and in spite of what some of our seminaries are teaching, or are not teaching-on this festival of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist-how can anyone doubt, or question, that God has a plan?! Because these lessons we have before us this morning reveal that plan, and reveal it clearly and powerfully! And nowhere is the reality of God's plan laid out more clearly, than in our lesson from Acts, where we hear St. Paul speaking about God's systematic theology.

     Paul and his companions had set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down-and after the reading of the law and the prophets, the president and leaders of the synagogue sent word to Paul and his friends, asking for a word of exhortation. So, Paul stood up to speak, among these Jews, in their synagogue during their Sabbath service-and what Paul proclaims, is-you guessed it-- how God had a plan; a plan that began with the Israelites, and continued with the last of the great Old Testament prophets, John, the Son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, preparing the way for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Paul said, "You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen: The God of Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm, he led them out of it. For forty years he put up with them in the wilderness, finally giving them their land as an inheritance for about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges, until the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul. When God removed him, God made David their king. Of this man's posterity, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; and before Jesus' coming, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel."

     Here, St. Paul is speaking about God's plan, not just for God's ancient people, Israel, not just for John and Jesus, and Elizabeth and Zechariah, and Mary and Joseph: Paul is speaking to the Jews in his day, about God's plan, for them! Paul concludes, "my brothers, you descendants of Abraham's family and others who fear God, to us, this message of this salvation has been sent!" Meaning, they, too, were part of this great plan of God's, that had been revealed. Meaning, this revealed truth, was not just a proclamation of God's great deeds of the past, but the revelation of God's plan, that they, too, be included in this plan, and that this plan is for all God's children-that all that had happened-happened that those who would come later--might see and understand, and participate in, this plan, of God. As the prophet Malachi declares, the messenger who is coming, is coming to prepare the way of the Lord, and that preparation will be a refining, and a purifying-so that those who want to receive the Lord will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness-so that our offering will be pleasing to the Lord, as was the case in the days of old, and as in former years. Yes, God has a plan, and that plan included, not just the Israelites of old and of former years-but those Jews in that synagogue in Paul's day, and us--in our time as well! So that we, too, are to prepare the way of the Lord; so that we, too, are to be refined and purified; and not only are we to be refined and purified, but we, too, are to do the work of John the Baptist, proclaiming a baptism of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins.

     As you remember, when the angel came to Zechariah, to tell him that even in their advanced years, Elizabeth would conceive and bear a son, and they were to name him John, Zechariah had a hard time believing, and was struck dumb, silent, until the child was born, and they named him John. And at that moment we read in our gospel lesson, immediately, Zechariah's mouth was opened and his tongue freed-why? For him to speak and praise God! The angel of the Lord silenced Zechariah, to give him time to think about, and pray about God's plan-and to believe it! And once Zechariah was convinced, his tongue was loosed, and he was able to speak-to praise God and proclaim God's mighty plan! And indeed, just after he received his speech, Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang the song that is called "The Benedictus", from the first words of the hymn-"Blessed be." And it is a hymn of praise to God for his wonderful plan for the salvation of the world: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, bring delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life-until that day dawns-the day when the Messiah comes, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

     This hymn, the Benedictus, the church has sung for ages and ages in Morning Prayer, as we greet the new day praising God for his plan-that came through Abraham and Moses, the Israelites and Egyptians, the great prophets and kings of old, and yes, through John the Baptizer, himself-until the new day came, when Jesus was not just born, but died, and was raised, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide us into the way of peace. And the Church-we, the Church should continue to sing Zechariah's hymn of praise, that God has a plan, and that we are a part of it! And that plan didn't end, with Jesus' resurrection and ascension-God's plan doesn't stop at the walls of the church building-but it is a plan that encompasses our lives, and our every thought, and choice, and action in life. Like Zechariah, we sometimes doubt, and find it hard to believe that God has a plan for us-we may not laugh, as Sarah did in the Old Testament, but life sometimes leaves us baffled, and troubled, and questioning whether God is even aware of us, let alone has us included in his plan. But with Zechariah, sometimes it's helpful for us to quiet ourselves, and devote ourselves to prayer and meditation, and trust, that God is at work-that God has a plan that will turn out for good, and that our role, is to praise God, and thank Him, and give ourselves completely, to his plan and purpose-even though we don't always know, can't always see, may not understand, how it is that God is taking, even the greatest tragedies, even the most terrible sorrow and grief and uncertainty and lack of direction in our lives-and weave it into the fabric of his plan, for our ultimate, good-to bring light to our darkness and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

     Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian holocaust survivor wrote a little thought, that we have as a framed print in our home. She writes, "every experience, every person God puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future only God can see." Surely, Zechariah and Elizabeth learned that, and learned to trust that, as they conceived and awaited the birth of their son, John-who would be the messenger to prepare the way for Jesus. And we hear that and learn that as well-as we hear the good news of God's plan for salvation; as we hear proclaimed, again and again, the Gospel of God's unconditional gift of salvation in and through Jesus Christ; as we receive Christ's light, as we sit in darkness and the shadow of death. We hear and learn that God has a plan-for the whole world, and for us, and we can trust that-as we place our faith, in God alone. Trusting that every person, every experience God gives us, is the perfect preparation for the future he has planned for us-the future, only He can see!

     In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.