“Trust in the Lord and he will act.” (Psalm 37)

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Gospel: Luke 1: 5-17

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.
John 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 their hearts toward their children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Nearly every birth in the Bible is about the reaction of the parents as much as it is the destiny of the child.

Consider the difference between Mary’s reaction to the angel Gabriel versus Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, whose feast day we celebrate today.

Both births are foretold by the Angel Gabriel and both seemed highly unlikely: Mary, a virgin, and Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, was elderly and barren.

While Mary believed what Gabriel told her, Zechariah’s heart was clouded by doubt. “How can this be?” he says. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years!”

Zechariah didn’t believe in the impossible. So, the angel strikes him mute, preventing him from saying another word until he holds his child, John, in his arms.

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This is a lesson learned throughout scripture: God can do extraordinary things. Yet how often do we question the Lord like Zechariah did, favoring human logic over the power of the divine?

“Lord, time is running out. Will you answer me?”

“How can I carry this cross? My health is declining.”

“How can I climb this mountain before me? It looks daunting.”

I asked a similar question upon arriving here at St. Pius X. “Lord, how can I renew this parish? We’re small in number … and we’re in the middle of a pandemic!”

Yet look at what the Lord has done – and continues doing today. Our ministries are expanding; Mass attendance is growing; faith and excitement are oozing out of many.

Like Zechariah, we’re being invited to trust that God can do the impossible… through us and for us, too.

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What seems impossible in my own life? Where have I doubted God’s power to do something new? 

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With God, all things are possible… but everything is made easier by belief. As the Psalmist reminds us, “Trust in the Lord and he will act…because they trust in him” (Psalm 37:5, 40).

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Image credits: (1) Woman’s Day, WordPress (2) Andrey Shishkin, Simeon (3) God With Us, Pinterest