Gospel: Luke
1:5-25
In the
days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the
priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her
name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child,
because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.
Once when
he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the
practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary
of the Lord to burn incense.
Then,
when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the
incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right
of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came
upon him.
But the
angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And
you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will
be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will
turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before
him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward
children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare
a people fit for the Lord.”
Then Zechariah
said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is
advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who
stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good
news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these
things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be
fulfilled at their proper time.” Meanwhile the people were waiting for
Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he
came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a
vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
Then,
when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. After this time his wife
Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So
has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my
disgrace before others.”
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Reflection:
How
profound is your faith in God? Does your faith in God create awareness in you
that nothing is impossible with God?
We have
in our gospel Zechariah a priest who is in the twilight of his life. For the
reason of his advance age Zechariah thought that he would never have a child.
Until the Lord through an angel intervened and granted what he long for but
Zechariah still did not believe.
Nothing
is impossible with God for those who believe; unfortunately Zechariah was
deficient in this aspect. The possible for God was impossible for him. Considering
that he is a Priest his faith seems to be shallow. But we can’t blame Zechariah
for he was just being realistic; he and his wife Elizabeth were both old
already.
Once in a
while we also pass through this episode of unbelief and lack of faith. Amidst
this episode, let us not lose focus on the fact that nothing is impossible with
God for those who believe and have faith.
We may
have dreams or aspirations in life that may seem impossible for us to achieve
and we naturally doubt. But let us not doubt let us continue to silently work
for that seemingly impossible dream. Then let us leave everything to God’s
providence let us ask Him to bless and guide us as we aspire for this
impossible dream.
Do you
believe that God will give you what you’re praying for? If you believe and you have strong faith you will have it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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