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:
Are you
faithful to the Lord’s command?
The
couple Elizabeth and Zechariah were both well beyond their best years as far as
having a child is concerned. But God unexpectedly blessed them with a child.
Why did God elected to bless them with a child? Perhaps God did so because both
were faithful to Him, both were righteous and they both observe blamelessly His
commandments and ordinances.
There are
things in life that may seem to be impossible already for us to achieve. But we
must always remember that nothing is impossible with God. Everything is possible for Him for so long
as we have faith and are faithful to Him. This is evidenced by what happened to the righteous
couple of Zechariah and Elizabeth.
What if
they were not righteous? What if they did not faithfully observe the
commandments of the Lord? Perhaps, the Good Lord wouldn’t have blessed them
with a child. But they were faithful that’s why God rewarded them with a blessing
of life.
I think
that most of the blessing that God gives us is anchored on our faith and
faithfulness towards Him. This is perhaps the first requirement of God if we
want to receive something from Him. But are we always faithful to God? Do we
always follow His commandments?- Marino J. Dasmarinas
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