Word to the Wise
Monday, December 19, 2016 -
[Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a and Luke 1:5-25]"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." [Luke]
It's the season of improbable pregnancies! Our first scripture today from the Book of Judges, centuries before the scene we have today from the Gospel of Luke, tells of the improbable birth of Samson! Today's scene from Luke features the improbable pregnancy of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. Poor Zechariah is struck dumb because he was skeptical and didn't get to talk for nine months!
When we think about what happened in those days the improbability of it all may not strike us. The focus is on the tiny figure lying in a manger. The angel told Mary (about Elizabeth) that "Nothing is impossible with God." We celebrate God made humanly possible. God is the God of the improbable as well. The Preface Prayer I of the Christmas Mass speaks of "the wonder of the incarnation." I hope we can all capture that wonder. AMEN