Thursday, December 23, 2021

 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent – December 23

(Malachi 3:1-4.23-24; Luke 1:57-66)

After doing something seriously wrong, we may feel out of sorts.  Guilt weighs on our conscience.  One thing after another seems to go south.  In Shakespeare’s Macbeth after killing the king, both Macbeth and his wife experience a serious of setbacks.  She goes out of her mind, and he is routed.  In the gospel Zechariah commits a serious sin, suffers consequences, but shows himself capable of reform.

Zechariah expressed doubt that the good news of the angel Gabriel could come to pass.  When told that he and his barren wife Elizabeth would bear a son, he questioned God’s authority.  As a result, he was struck speechless.  In today’s passage, the child is born.  Zechariah shows acceptance of God’s authority by naming his son “John” as Gabriel ordained.  Only then is Zechariah’s speech restored.

When John grows up, he will announce the coming of the Lord.  Doing so, he fulfills the prophecy of today’s first reading.  John preaches repentance to prepare the people for Christ’s forgiveness. We too must repent when we do something wrong.  Then, like Zechariah, we can be refreshed to give praise to God.