Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.
Do not worry
1) Blameless people: This is how Zechariah and Elizabeth were. Perhaps you are like this, and you show a beautiful image before others. In others’ eyes, you are a fighter; faultless; a faithful person … but you might feel that you are missing something. You feel incomplete in life; even if you have done many good things. Elizabeth and Zechariah both had faith, but they were struck by life.
2) The message: The angel announces that they will be parents despite their old age, showing that there is nothing impossible for God. But, nevertheless, they find it hard to believe because they think with human logic. The same thing happens to you and to me; I want to have everything controlled with my head; I want everything to go the way I think it should and, if not, I ask God so that everything will accommodate me. But God always shows that it is He who does everything, and not you with your crazy head.
3) Fear: Zechariah is afraid and responds from fear, because he closes himself to the message he received. That is why he is mute, because of his stubbornness. Learn to do things even in fear. Like someone I read about in an Instagram message that said: “My son was perched at the top of the slide, and he told me: ‘I’m scared, Mom.’ I replied: “slide down anyway.” The boy let himself go. He got off the slide and looked at me happily and said: “I’m not afraid anymore, Mom.” Today you might say you are afraid, and you tell me, “I am not doing it because I am afraid”. But I tell you, like this child, “move forward still, even in fear, because there is a God who awaits you.”
God-bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Remember heaven is our goal !
