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Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25A
Psalm 71:3-4A, 5-6AB, 16-17
Luke 1:5-25
Summary
In the days of Herod, there was a priest named Zechariah, his wife….was Eliza-
beth…..They had no child because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.
Once Zechariah was chosen to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense……..the
angel of the Lord appeared to him…….and fear came upon him……The angel said to
him, ‘Do not be afraid Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Eliza-
beth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John, and you will have joy and glad-
ness and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.’
Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is
advanced in years.’
And the angel said to him in reply, ‘I am Gabriel. I was sent to speak to you and to an-
nounce 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 their proper time.’
(When Zechariah came out of the sanctuary) he was unable to speak to the people wait-
ing, and they realized he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
(After his days of ministry) were completed, Zechariah went home.
After this time his wife Elizabeth was conceived, and she went into seclusion for five
months, saying‘ So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away
my disgrace before others ‘
Reflection
I included more of the Gospel verse in the summary than most of the Online Prayer Book
entries because I felt it was important to read as much as possible of this verse to gain the
proper context.
On one hand, the story of Zechariah / Elizabeth and the angel Gabriel’s appearance may
not seem completely relevant to each of us in our
daily lives when read through a narrow lens. But if
you step back from the story and think about it as I
have, it has significant meaning to each of us in our
daily lives.
In the first sentence spoken by Gabriel to Zechariah,
he tells him ‘your prayer has been heard’. Doesn’t
that get to the essence of what we as Catholics do on