December 23/Fourth Tuesday of Advent
Immediately [Zechariah’s] mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. ~ Luke 1.64
By the time Elizabeth gives birth to a son, Zechariah has had plenty of time to reflect on events. Nine months, to be precise: because he had earlier questioned Gabriel’s message that his aging wife would conceive a child, he was handed an extended sentence of silence. The angel sternly decrees, repeating the consequences for emphasis, “you will become mute, unable to speak.” We may wonder what those nine months were like for Zechariah – unable to fulfill his priestly duties completely, impaired in his ability to comfort or help his wife, relegated to the quiet of his house and his heart. A frustrating time, no doubt – but a fruitful one, in which he had the opportunity to reflect on God’s words, God’s power, God’s plan and his response to it. And when the baby was born and the days of the angel’s prophecy were fulfilled, Zechariah was given another chance. Having had a great deal of time to keep silence, and listen for God’s voice, Zechariah is a changed man. This time he unhesitatingly trusts God’s command, defying community expectations about the child’s name as he writes in his tablet, “His name is John.” And suddenly – Luke uses a favorite adverb, paraxrēma, meaning “at once, immediately” – Zechariah’s “mouth was opened and his tongue freed” (with Luke’s usual attention to style, the doublet harkens back to that double decree of silence). Perhaps one lesson for us is that, like Zechariah, we might benefit from the practice of contemplative silence in the presence of the Lord. No speech, no words, no petitions or confessions or praises, just a daily time of quiet that invites God into our hearts and our lives, to do his work from the inside out.
Lord of the still, small voice, Help me create quiet spaces and times in my life, so that I may listen for your guiding voice within my heart. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122325.cfm
To hear teh Ensemble San Felice sing “Elisabeth Zachariae” by Marco da Gagliano, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhqQFtXhqdY
