December 19, 2012

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 195

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Judges
Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a

There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah.
His wife was barren and had borne no children.
An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,
"Though you are barren and have had no children,
yet you will conceive and bear a son.
Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink
and to eat nothing unclean.
As for the son you will conceive and bear,
no razor shall touch his head,
for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb.
It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel
from the power of the Philistines."

The book of Judges recounts the men and women whom God appointed early on in salvation history to begin the redemption of Israel.  Read more about the book of Judges:

The woman went and told her husband,
"A man of God came to me;
he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed.
I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.
But he said to me,
'You will be with child and will bear a son.
So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.
For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,
until the day of his death.'"

This portion of the book is similar and foreshadows the announcement of the birth of Christ by an Angel.

The woman bore a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him;
the Spirit of the LORD stirred him.

Samson, himself, is an interesting study in how God's will is accomplished even by ungodly men.  Samson, if you read his story, does not seem to understand nor respect the gift of grace which God has given him.  But abuses his power and becomes an adulterer and sinner.  In the end however, after being knocked to his knees by the pagan population, he turns to God for help and receives it:

Judges 16:28-30
King James Version (KJV)
28 And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17

R. (see 8) My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.

R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

For you are my hope, O LORD;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.

R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

Let us not ignore God's commandments, as did Samson, nor wait until the last possible second to repent of our sins.  But let us glorify God by our actions throughout our lives.  For greater is the glory for him who does not receive such graces in this life and yet turns to God with all his heart.

Do not imitate Samson.  Turn to God NOW.  Because it may be too late, later.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. LukeLk 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,there was a priest named Zechariahof the priestly division of Abijah;his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,and her name was Elizabeth.Both were righteous in the eyes of God,observing all the commandmentsand ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barrenand both were advanced in years.

Sts. Zechariah and Elizabeth, virtuous examples of a Godly life.  Keeping the Commandments of God. They were aged and childless when God sent an Angel to them.

Once when he was serving as priest
in his division's turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.

St. Zechariah is Jesus' uncle by virtue of the fact that St. Elizabeth is the Virgin Mary's cousin.  How this came about is unknown to me because the Virgin is of the house of Judah, the Kingly line.  While St. Elizabeth is of the house of Aaron, the priestly line.

Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

The angel of the Lord, St. Gabriel, appeared to St. Zechariah and scared him to death.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

St. Gabriel comforted St. Zechariah and informed him that he and St. Elizabeth would bear a son, St. John the Baptist.

He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God.

Note the similarity here between the announcement of the birth of Samson and St. John's.

'You will be with child and will bear a son.So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,until the day of his death.'"

He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

Note the first comparison to the Great Prophet Elijah.

Then Zechariah said to the angel,
"How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

Here, St. Zechariah, to his sorrow, showed that his faith was not greater than Abraham's:

Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

And the angel said to him in reply,
"I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you 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 their proper time."

As a sign of God's power, St. Zechariah was stricken dumb and unable to speak, because he didn't believe the words of the Angel.

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then when he came out of the Temple, the people there realized that something great had happened, because he could not speak.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
After this time his wife Elizabeth 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."

Then, St. Elizabeth conceived a child and rejoiced.  In the Jewish society of the day, those who were not blessed with children were considered to be out of God's favor.  Therefore, she said that God had removed her disgrace.

Sincerely,

De Maria