Zechariah’s Charade | December 19, 2015

December 19, 2015

The story of Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, is a fun one. First he wins the priest lottery, which is a pretty big deal. It’s one of those “once in a lifetime” things and whenever something is labeled “once in a lifetime”, I feel like people tend to make an effort to make the most of the experience. The very idea that this is my only chance to do this ups our game, opens our heart, channels our courage up to the surface, and ignites our best effort. The priest lottery was for the honor of going into the Holy of Holies where God’s presence dwelled (inside the temple), where only priests could go, and burn the incense representing the people’s prayer to the Lord. In ancient Judaism there was no shortage of priests, in fact you could go your entire lifetime without being selected for this great honor, and that’s why winning the lottery was a big deal (don’t we wish we had that “problem” today?).

While he was in there he had an encounter with the ever-impressive Angel Gabriel. I really want to meet this Gabriel guy sometime because in every scene he shows up in the Bible he scares the crap out of the people to which he is appearing. I picture him to be massive like a gladiator, shiny like when the sun hits the side of a mirrored skyscraper and it blinds you, and of course handsome, so handsome, in fact, that he takes everyone’s breath away. I understand that handsome is the opposite of scary, but you can picture your Angel Gabriel any way you want…mine happens to be handsome. The point is that his presence was overwhelming.

He greets Zechariah in a similar way to how he greets Mary, “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,” along with an ample description of his son! So far so good and this is all happening in the holiest place, which is as ideal a situation as you can get. Raise your hand if you would love for an (handsome) angel to appear to you and tell you that your prayer had been answered. I would, I would!! Next comes Zechariah’s response, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” Well in theory it sounds like Mary’s initial question “How can this be?” but Zechariah meant it as a challenge to God rather than being open to God’s will. How will I know for sure? He responded in doubt and Mary responded in faith. Her demeanor must have been open and accepting like, “OK, I understand, but how are you going to do it?” while Zechariah’s demeanor might have been bitter and sarcastic like, “Yeah right, do you know how old I am? It’s not like we haven’t been “trying” all these years.” Can you see and feel the difference? Sometimes our questions come from openness to the idea and sometimes they come from our stubborn preconceived notions.

The handsome angel gets frustrated with Zechariah’s doubt, after all if he can’t buy what Gabriel is selling the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place set aside for priests only, then how will he believe it on the outside, in the big bad ugly world. So God silences Zechariah as a time to be refined in the Spirit. He knew that Zechariah’s weakness was his words and that he needed time, not debilitated by his weakness, to process the workings of the Spirit in his life. Raise your hand if you have ever been tested this way and at the end of the test you were stronger and better. I am currently in this process.

So Zechariah emerged from the temple after a long while. Fun fact: since only the priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies he would go in there with a long rope tied around his ankle so in case anything happened in there like him dying or fainting, his congregation could pull him out by the rope and not defile the sacred space by going in there after him. I don’t know why that image makes me laugh but it does. Another funny thing to imagine is that Zechariah essentially had to play charades for the next several months as his only way to communicate. I wonder if they had the same kinds of gestures for things that we do. Two words…first word, sounds like???? Mangle? He pretends he has wings, flapping away…the crowd guesses….ANGEL!!!!! He points to his nose in affirmation and so on….I mean how did he gesticulate his encounter with the handsome angel? The people must have thought he was crazy. When he got home from work, sure enough, Elizabeth was pregnant and I imagine Zechariah weeping with joy, but also with some guilt for not believing the angel’s message. His doubt kept him from being able to fully celebrate in the miracle that God had blessed them with.

My weakness and my doubt keep me from seeing God’s hand in the challenges of my life. I know that when I respond to God’s will in faith, windows and doors fly open for me to navigate through in love, but when I respond in disbelief I spiritually close all those windows and doors and stay put waiting for life to happen. The story of Zechariah reminds us when God answers our prayer, we should humbly accept whatever that answer is and rejoice in it, because God’s way is always better than our way. Mary’s reply, “let it be done unto me according to your will”, is the only response I want to use when God whispers, or when a handsome angel brings me a message, or when the Holy Spirit prompts my heart. Let us pray that our weaknesses will not debilitate us any more and that we will increase in faith.

Reading 1 JGS 13:2-7, 24-25A

There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah. 
His wife was barren and had borne no children. 
An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,
“Though you are barren and have had no children,
yet you will conceive and bear a son. 
Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink
and to eat nothing unclean.
As for the son you will conceive and bear,
no razor shall touch his head,
for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. 
It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel
from the power of the Philistines.”

The woman went and told her husband,
“A man of God came to me;
he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed. 
I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. 
But he said to me,
‘You will be with child and will bear a son. 
So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. 
For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,
until the day of his death.’”

The woman bore a son and named him Samson. 
The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him;
the Spirit of the LORD stirred him.

Responsorial Psalm PS 71:3-4A, 5-6AB, 16-17

R. (see 8) My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. 
R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!
For you are my hope, O LORD;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength. 
R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!
I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

Alleluia 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Root of Jesse's stem,
sign of God's love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 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.”