SATURDAY, DEC 23
Luke 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.”
Grace: I ask for the grace to know Jesus in a deeper way that I may abundantly love and follow him.
The days of her seclusion were done. “He has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others” (Lk. 1:25). No more enduring the pitying whispers of misfortune; the gossipy speculation of what sin brought about the judgment of infertility; no more turning away from the sidelong glances reserved for the disgraced; no longer any need to rebuff affronts to their priestly rank. Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly (v. 6), and this birth proved it!
Today is the day of thanksgiving and celebration! It is the eighth day, the day of circumcision, the day of the child’s incorporation into Israel. But tradition is jarred. Zechariah cannot utter the ancient words: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and has commanded us to make our sons enter the covenant of Abraham our Father.” Elizabeth alone would do this, with the jubilant joy that swelled and engulfed her when she heard Mary’s words of greeting just weeks ago. Kin, acquaintances, friends and neighbors, no doubt motivated by sympathy at the child’s father’s silence, unaware of his mother’s joy, murmur their communal affirmation: “Even as this child has entered into the covenant, so may he enter into the Torah, the nuptial canopy, and into good deeds.”
The mohel begins the sacred act. Taking a cup of wine, reciting the prayer of blessing over it, then he pauses, looks at Zechariah, asks the child’s name. They were going to call him Zechariah after his father … Elizabeth initiated John’s circumcision with joy; now with resolute determination verging on indignation, she responds: “No! He will be called John” (vv. 59-60). Undaunted, “they” turn to her husband to over-rule her.
Harboring in his heart the whispered words of the angel and peering into a distant horizon with a confidence borne of faith’s trust, Zechariah writes: “John is his name” (v. 63). What follows is the song of a father’s loosed tongue, paralleled only by Mary’s Magnificat. Both are celebrations of promises fulfilled, evil’s darkness banished, and the dawn of hope’s eternal brightness.
For Reflection and Prayer:
What is in your name? Why did the Creator whisper that name to your mother? Your father?
What hope conveyed? What destiny dreamed of?
You may want to watch this interpretation of Zechariah’s hymn of praise, the Benedictus, as composed by Welsh musician and composer, Karl Jenkins:
The Contributor:
Fr. Roger Keeler is a presbyter of the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Canada, currently teaching at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.
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Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.