In the order of salvation history, God so foreordained things
that we should be given an example by the lack of faith of St. Zechariah.
Because the event that took place at the Annunciation of John the Baptist
by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah
is what biblical scholars would call antithetical parallelism.
It's exactly parallel.
To the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin
announcing the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Exactly parallel to it, but it's antithetical.
There's a very big difference between the two.
Parallels come in terms of the fact that it is the angel Gabriel that appears
and when Zechariah sees the angel and hears his greeting,
he is disturbed in a sense after the manner
that he was being treated.
Of course, our lady was disturbed because of her humility
and Zechariah was disturbed because of fear,
so there's already a bit of antithesis there.
And the angel says to him,
do not be afraid, as he does to the Blessed Mother.
And he goes on to announce the coming of the baptizer.
The real antithesis is
when the angel Gabriel is finished,
Zechariah says to the angel, how shall I know this?
For I am an old man and my wife has advanced in years.
And this was an expression of a lack of faith.
Our lady's question, on the other hand, to the angel when he had finished,
was not a lack of faith that God would be able to accomplish what he said,
but rather it was a question of discernment.
Our Blessed Mother wanted to know how she was, if she was to remain,
a virgin in this plan,
so that she might know whether or not it was an angel sent by God.
On the other hand, Zechariah had doubts that this miracle could be accomplished,
that his wife could conceive at an old age.
And so he was struck dumb for his lack of faith.
The angel Gabriel spoke of this event as an opportunity,
and I was sent to speak to you, he says, and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at the proper time.
And so if you think about it,
Zechariah, like our Blessed Mother,
wasn't given a lot of time to think about what was being told to him,
or what might be expected.
It was simply an announcing of the fact,
what God wanted, and what was to be accomplished.
And at that moment, God expected faith.
In the case of the Blessed Mother, she posited that faith.
In the case of Zechariah, he didn't.
And he was punished for not having done it.
It was a challenge, and it came at a moment,
and that moment passed him by,
and he was punished for it.
The other interesting thing about
what takes place in today's Gospel reading
is that at a certain point,
the two events converge.
Our Lady's faith and the lack of faith of Zechariah.
And Our Lady goes to Ein Karim, to her cousin, Saint Elizabeth,
to bring the presence of Jesus there.
And when she does,
Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit,
and John the Baptist leaps in his mother's womb,
and Our Lady sings the praises of God,
because she sees that the faith that God accomplished in her,
and the miracle that he accomplished in her,
is already bearing fruit.
Jesus is present in her womb,
salvation is already in the world,
and salvation is being wrought,
is being worked in Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist.
And Our Lady is filled with joy,
and she spontaneously says,
she spontaneously breaks into the great hymn of praise
that we say at evening prayer,
the Magnificat,
my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
And then,
when she's there,
and John the Baptist is born,
there's also great joy.
And then when they're coming to name the child,
as we'll read about later on in the week,
I think,
or before Christmas,
it'll be Zechariah,
who in faith,
tells them to name,
the boy John,
after the instructions of the angel,
and then his tongue is loosed.
After he expresses his faith,
in what God has asked him to do,
he breaks forth into a hymn of praise,
that hymn of praise which we sing at morning prayer,
the Benedictus,
blessed be the God,
the Benedictus,
we pray every morning,
the morning,
with morning prayer.
So,
we see how,
we are called then to,
make an act of faith,
in,
in what God reveals to each and every one of us,
and to,
ask the Blessed Mother,
to give us the strength,
to do that,
and to be quick,
you know,
when God reveals his will to us,
when we know there's something that we should do,
whether it's to repent,
or,
or to be obedient,
in the case of a,
of a friar,
especially,
then we accept God's,
will,
his word,
his truth,
and embrace it,
and,
and lift it up,
to the Lord,
and expect to have,
divine providence,
providence to take care of us,
and then try to find,
in that,
that revelation of God's will to us,
our joy,
even if it's something tough,
and difficult,
even if it's something that's,
hard to believe,
you know,
in the case of Zechariah,
the problem was that it was hard to believe,
you know,
in the case,
in our case,
you know,
maybe because we don't agree,
with the decision of a superior,
or we don't think this is a cross that we should be carrying,
human nature has,
something,
fallen human nature has something about it,
that allows us,
to find fault with God,
to find fault with almost anything,
or make excuses for almost anything,
and say,
well,
this is really different,
it's really not the same thing,
that Zechariah went through,
we always have a,
a reason,
to say somehow,
we're a special case,
or something is,
is different,
but in reality,
we're just supposed to do our duty,
and accept it,
and accept it in the spirit of faith,
and lift it up to God,
and,
and do it in the spirit of the blessed mother,
if we do that,
we humble ourselves in that way,
and,
then we'll have reason to praise God,
we'll have reasons to,
magnify the Lord,
and to give praise for his presence,
and his love for us,
and,
for his,
for the mystery of Christmas,
which we continue to celebrate,
in this holy sacrifice of the mass.
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