The Gospel for December 21, 2004 (St. Thomas)
Luke 1:5-25
In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were upright in the sight of God and impeccably carried out all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years. Now it happened that it was the turn of his section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the priestly custom was, to enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense all the people were outside, praying. Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink; even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the Israelites to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the good sense of the upright, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’ Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I know this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel, who stand in God’s presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Look! Since you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.’ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to them, and they realised that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. But he could only make signs to them and remained dumb. When his time of service came to an end he returned home. Some time later his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept to herself, saying, ‘The Lord has done this for me, now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered in public.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
Sirai was old, and giggled when an angel appeared to her and told her she would conceive in her old age. Abraham had heard YHWH's promise of generations, and may have believed that his liaison with Sirai's servant had provided them. YHWH was not done with either of them!
Here we have YHWH's sense of humor reflected onto Zechariah from one who can stand in the Presence, not any garden-variety angel; moreover, Elizabeth believes that her prayers to counter her humiliation have been answered. We are "in the know" that YHWH had but one intent, and that was to provide the new Elijah to straighten the crooked, and to make level the way for Jesus.
A Reflection
I have seldom given much thought to the parallels between Moses and Jesus. Both delivered their people from an unrighteous master, and neither was appreciated for what he had done. Moses more than Jesus received acclamation in his own life. Moses knew that he had been forced into the role as leader, and did so behind the fiery pillar, while Jesus led from within the hearts of His people. Moses came down from his mountain-top experience to find that his people had quickly reverted to their old pagan ways. Jesus returned from the Transfiguration to a people with their hearts still largely unmoved by His teaching, and with a huge variance between their understanding of messiahship and His.
John Baptist, from the priestly line, no less, came to a barren woman in her old age. His job as advance-man for Jesus was not unique for the times, just for Jesus. Many so-called prophets wandered the wilderness, preaching the coming of a messianic figure. And many such figures appeared, but their audiences quickly dwindled.
I really wonder how much to swallow of the Angelic visitation stories of Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah.
They don't fit the observations that we have of how the world works. The stories we have don't fit, either. The meeting of the kinswomen Mary and Elizabeth and their sharing of the Magnificat would make me think that they would tell their firstborn sons of their marvelous futures and the relationship that each had to the other. Joseph and Mary seemed surprised at the boy Jesus' remark about his "father's house" when he was left behind at the Temple. John Baptist sends messengers to Jesus, asking, "Are you the one?".
But I am not the one who's going to say that God couldn't do any of that. Our limited understanding of the universe reveals a precision and perfection in creation unattainable by anything we might try to do. And our own experience tells us that what we write down about events is often what surprises us; we skip the parts that "everybody knows."
Jesus made signs and wonders to attract his potential believers. Shall we say that YHWH is forbidden to do so?
The Collect
Almighty and everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with sure and certain faith in your Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
10:26:28 PM 
|
|
