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Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80
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.
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 the Blessed Mother’s reaction to the angel Gabriel versus Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.
Both Jesus and John the Baptist were conceived under the most unlikely circumstances, and both were foretold by the Angel Gabriel. Mary was a virgin and Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, was elderly and barren.
While Mary believed what Gabriel proclaimed to her, Zechariah’s heart was clouded by doubt. “How can this be?” he questioned. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years!”
Zechariah didn’t believe in the impossible. So, he was struck mute until his child was born.
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This lesson appears throughout the scriptures: God does the impossible. Yet how often are we like Zechariah? We question the Lord, 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 had similar thoughts before being ordained a priest. Although I felt undoubtedly called to ministry, the mission placed before me was intimidating.
How could I share the Gospel effectively? How could I minister to the sick and the dying? How could I comfort their families? How could I reconcile souls with Christ? And, eventually, lead an entire parish?
Yet look at what the Lord has done with us and through us.
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Perhaps this is the word for us today. There are certain moments in life when, like Mary and Zechariah, we are all called to trust in God’s Providence, even what lies before us seems impossible.
As the LORD says through the prophet Ezekiel, “I have spoken and I will do it.”
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Image credits: (1) ACI Africa (2) Saint John the Baptist as a Child, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (3) Redbubble