23 December, 2023 | Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel Lk 1:57-66
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."
Reflections:
Three days ago we read that Zechariah was terrified; and that fear overwhelmed him when the angel visited him in the sanctuary of the temple to foretell him the birth of his son, John. Zechariah doubted and asked for a sign, “How will I know that this is so?” and he was given a sign, he was to remain dumb until the prophecy took place. Today, the gospel tells us, “He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God.” What a transformation! From being dumb to ‘speaking and praising God’; from being a skeptic to being a man of faith. And Elizabeth too, who was once despised for being barren, is now a proud mother of a child, the new Elijah, who “shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” to prepare the way of the Lord. What a journey it has been for Zechariah and Elizabeth! God will transform us too if we co-operate with him. Let us believe in the truth that God is faithful, reliable, dependable, and trustworthy. He keeps His promises.
Activity:
Let us spend some time during the day and recall the difficult moments we went through and how God intervened and lifted our spirits up. And let us praise and thank God for those moments.
Amen🙏
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