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.
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the
day of his manifestation to Israel.
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Have you been faithful to the Lord?
To continuously propagate the name of a certain clan it is customary to
name a newly born child after his father’s name. This was in the mind of the
relatives who proposed that the newly born baby of Elizabeth be named after his
father Zechariah.
But Zechariah had previously had an agreement with the Angel
Gabriel when he appeared to him in the sanctuary that the baby would be named
John (Luke 1:13). True to their word both Elizabeth and Zechariah did not renege
on their agreement with the Lord through the angel Gabriel.
Their faithfulness to God’s covenant was further rewarded when
Zechariah was able to speak again. What is the implication of this for us? This
tells us that the good Lord has a reward for those who are faithful to Him. Are
we always faithful to the Lord?
We too are being reminded by this gospel to be faithful to our own
covenants with the Lord. You may be asking yourself: What is my covenant with
the Lord? There are many, I will just mention a few. If you’re married your
covenant with the Lord is to be faithful to your spouse until the very end.
Our Baptismal covenant with the Lord is faithfulness to the teachings of
the church. Have we been faithful to the teachings of the church and have we
already shared and lived its teachings?
God through the angel Gabriel has rewarded the faithfulness of Elizabeth
and Zechariah. There’s also a reward in store for us all for so long as we
would be faithful to the Lord. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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