Gospel: Luke 1:57-66
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have
her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the
Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to
circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but
his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There
is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking
his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote,
“John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his
tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their
neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of
Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will
this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
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Reflection:
What can our fidelity to the desire of God
do to us? It could bring us blessings, it could free us from the bondage of
sin, and it could heal us from any form of sickness and the like.
Initially the new born baby was supposed to
be named after his father Zechariah for it was the tradition during that time.
But his mother Elizabeth intervened she told them that he is to be named John.
Perhaps Zechariah had told his wife Elizabeth about his encounter with an angel
in the sanctuary who told Zechariah that the boy should be named John.
The relatives were not fully convinced with
the desire of Elizabeth to name her child John. So they asked Zechariah and on
a tablet he wrote the name John. And immediately Zechariah was freed from the bondage
of not being able to speak.
God has always a reward for those who are
faithful to His desire and this desire is to follow at all times His will for
us. You may ask, what is the will of God for myself? God’s will is for us to observe faithfully His ten commandments (Exodus
20:1-17) and to follow Jesus’ two greatest commandments of love (Matthew
22:36-40).
You may not become rich and powerful in the
measurement of this world if you will follow His desire. But you will certainly
have peace in your life, peace that this world would not be able to give you no
matter how rich and powerful you become.
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