Zechariah is Elizabeth's husband, a priest for Israel. While serving in the temple, Zechariah is told by an angel that his wife will have a son in her old age - and he doesn't believe the angel, and demands proof. So the angel silences Zechariah, and he can't speak. When his son John is born nine months later, Zechariah writes on a tablet "his name is John," as the angel told him to do, and Zechariah can speak again.
One day Zechariah is serving his priestly duties in the temple. He was praying to the Lord asking for help, when an angel called Gabriel appears to him, but Zechariah is very afraid. Gabriel tells him not to fear, and that Zechariah's prayer has been answered. Gabriel tells him that his wife Elizabeth will be able to have a son, their first child ever, even though she has grown old. The angel tells Zechariah to name him John, which means "God is gracious."
"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.
17He 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.
But Zechariah doesn't at first believe the angel. Instead of waiting for the Lord to act, he demands that the angel give him a sign that this is true. Gabriel becomes angry with Zechariah's lack of faithfulness, and makes him become silent, so that he cannot speak even though he tries.
Nine months later, his wife Elizabeth gives birth to their first son. On the special day that they are to give him a name, Elizabeth tells her family that he will be called John. But the Israelites have a tradition of naming children after other family members, and her family argues with her because "John" is not a family name. So they go to find Zechariah, and ask him what he wishes to name his son. Because he still cannot speak, Zechariah takes a pencil and tablet and writes his family the message, "His name is John." Then, immediately, Zechariah is able to talk again, and he says:
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
He has raised up a horn for our salvation
within the house of David his servant,
even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to be mindful of his holy covenant
and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
and to grant us that, rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God
by which the daybreak from on high will visit us
to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Connection & Reflection: Scripture records that Elizabeth and Zechariah were "righteous" in the eyes of God, meaning they obeyed all of the commandments that the Lord had set before them. Zechariah must have grown into a habit of praying for a child to be given to he and his wife because the day that it is finally granted, even he, a righteous man, doesn't believe the message! But because God the Father has mercy on Zechariah, he gives him a gift - nine months of silence that Zechariah can use to speak to the Lord and no one else!
Then, when his son is born and Zechariah once again shows his faithfulness, the Lord restores his voice. Zechariah realizes that he has been given so much by the Lord when he, Zechariah, was running out of faithfulness - not only a son, but the proof that he needed that the Lord is as powerful now as he was when he granted a child to Abraham and Sarah. And this son would directly help prepare the Israelites to receive God Himself.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your wisdom and the gifts that you have given and will give us. Help us when we are not able to see our struggles as gifts at all - give us the faithfulness that Zechariah had to speak to you and grow in faithfulness and love for you. As we get closer to Christmas, help us believe more deeply that it is You, the Lord of All Creation, that we receive at Christmas and at Mass in the Eucharist.
Conclude with your favorite family prayer, or an Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be.
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