John the Baptist is born, and when Zechariah writes the words the angel instructed, "His name is John" his tongue is freed, and he begins to praise God. This is the gospel for today. Everything about this gospel points to the fact that God works outside of the natural order of things, even the fact that the other relatives protest. Elizabeth says the child is to be named John, but there is no one else in the family with that name. The child's name, like the child's birth, is given by God. We are part of a world of nature, we function within that world, and so often we are trapped by that world, when we encounter problems and difficulties we seek natural solutions rather than turn to God in prayer. The person of faith should never have any reason to be discouraged, because that person knows that even though things might be impossible in the natural order, God does not work that way, God's ways are not ours, and God sees the bigger picture. The person of prayer knows there is never any reason to be discouraged because through constant prayer we begin to see God's hand at work in our midst, outside the natural order of things. When we are faithful to prayer, it's like turning a tapestry around and seeing how all the threads are woven and joined together, even though we may only see a few threads at a time. Pray always!
Showing posts with label St. John the Baptist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. John the Baptist. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Last Week of Advent - December 23rd
John the Baptist is born, and when Zechariah writes the words the angel instructed, "His name is John" his tongue is freed, and he begins to praise God. This is the gospel for today. Everything about this gospel points to the fact that God works outside of the natural order of things, even the fact that the other relatives protest. Elizabeth says the child is to be named John, but there is no one else in the family with that name. The child's name, like the child's birth, is given by God. We are part of a world of nature, we function within that world, and so often we are trapped by that world, when we encounter problems and difficulties we seek natural solutions rather than turn to God in prayer. The person of faith should never have any reason to be discouraged, because that person knows that even though things might be impossible in the natural order, God does not work that way, God's ways are not ours, and God sees the bigger picture. The person of prayer knows there is never any reason to be discouraged because through constant prayer we begin to see God's hand at work in our midst, outside the natural order of things. When we are faithful to prayer, it's like turning a tapestry around and seeing how all the threads are woven and joined together, even though we may only see a few threads at a time. Pray always!
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Last Week of Advent - December 19th
This posting will be focused on the gospel proper to December 19th, rather than the gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (especially since it is the same gospel we heard yesterday).Today the gospel presents us with the scene of the Annunciation to Zechariah. Zechariah, we are told, was praying for a son, but now in his old age he no longer believed it possible. The angel Gabriel appeared and told him that his prayer would be answered, God was going to give him exactly what he wanted, but Zechariah strangely, still did not believe it could happen, and so was rendered speechless until after his son's birth. How often do we have to accept those times when God sends us trials, when God answers our prayers but the answer is "no", but in those rare moments, when God does say "yes", when God gives us exactly what we want, why do we still have trouble, why do we still fail to believe? Is it just our own weak faith? Is it just part of our human nature to question, to doubt, to wonder why we don't get what we want, and to doubt even more when we get it? I don't claim to have an answer for this one, but the question is certainly worth pondering.
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