Luke 1:5-25

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.

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.”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

Why was Zachariah punished? The answer is simply his lack of trust. I have read some of the church fathers on this, and they all say that his punishment is the result of not immediately believing. When the similar scene happened with abraham, his wife did not believe but Abraham did and Abraham was rewarded with his son Isaac, despite his wife’s disbelief. When Mary was told the same thing, she immediately believed, but responded in a similar way, but was not punished, So what is the difference?

It must be state of mind, Mary did not understand how it would happen, but believed it would happen. Zachariah, on the other hand did not understand how it would happen, and also did not beleive it would happen. And I suspect that even if he did not outwardly scoff at this news, I believe his outward demeanor revealed that disbelief.

One of the church fathers, Cornelius a Lipide, suggests that the reason that Zachariah did not believe was because he was the high priest of that temple at that time, and that Cornelius felt that Zachariah needed to spend time reflecting and pondering what this prophesy and sign might mean. Further Cornelius suggests that Zachariah would not be able to believe until he had taken that time to do so.

So his punishment was commiserate with his sin. His disbelief was not a complete rejection of god’s power, but a prideful human need to understand that which cannot be understood. I like this explanation, because his sin was, at most, a venial sin, and his punishment, muteness, would give him the time he needed to properly reflect on the full meaning of this sign.

Later when John is born and named, Zachariah is completely obedient to the angels instruction, and names his son, John, as he was instructed. And as we see in a later reading, this act of complete obedience was rewarded with the restoration of his voice.

The bible truly is a beautiful peice of literature, and has so much to teach us if we spend the time to understand. I pray that we all take the wisdom of Abraham and Mary, and the lesson of Zachariah to heart, and simply believe, God has so much to share with us, but it all starts with that simple act of faith.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Oh. lord, help me today to build up my faith, and to help me believe where my mind tells me it is impossible. For we know that that with you all things are possible. Amen.