Sunday, December 18, 2016

Let us prepare and wait for the Lord and Saviour as Mother Mary

From the Gospel Reading: Lk 1: 5 - 25
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, belonging to the priestly clan of Abiah. Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, also belonged to a priestly family. Both of them were upright in the eyes of God and lived blamelessly in accordance with all the laws and commands of the Lord, but they had no child. Elizabeth could not have any and now they were both very old.

Now, while Zechariah and those with him were fulfilling their office, it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priests, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. .  . . It was then that an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. . . .

But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, be assured that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will bring joy and gladness to you and many will rejoice at his birth.

“This son of yours will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Listen: he shall never drink wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. Through him many of the people of Israel will turn to the Lord their God. He himself will open the way to the Lord with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children, and lead the disobedient to wisdom and righteousness, in order to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I believe this? I am an old man and my wife is elderly, too.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I am the one sent to speak to you and bring you this good news! My words will come true in their time. But you would not believe and now you will be silent and unable to speak until this has happened.” 

Meanwhile the people waited for Zechariah, and they were surprised that he delayed so long in the sanctuary. When he finally appeared, he could not speak to them and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He remained dumb and made signs to them.

When his time of service was completed, Zechariah returned home and some time later Elizabeth became pregnant. . . .









Have we ever experienced or heard of seemingly impossible events that occurred against all odds? Have we ever questioned how in the world this happened as there is no scientific explanation for it?  Just like Zechariah. It was hard for him to believe that his wife Elizabeth could still bear a child at her advanced age, even when the messenger was a messenger from God! 

Our doubts regarding God’s providence may hinder us from recognizing, appreciating His blessing and may not allow us to effect God’s plan for our life and for those that may be affected by our saying “No” to what He wants of us.  Let us open our eyes, ears, heart and mind to God’s voice through the Holy Spirit so that our will is aligned to God’s will and that God’s plan for us, and for others affected by our decision to follow Him, will come to fruition.


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