It has become a popular trend in the entertainment industry to create stories to fill the gaps between (or perhaps prior to) previous successful installments of their franchise. We’ve seen it with Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, Yellowstone, and even Lord of the Rings.
Even though we know how the story ends, we often jump on these offerings to engage more fully in the story line. The overall story arc hasn’t changed, but our anticipation, preparation, and appreciation for moments that we already know and love can often be enhanced by these stories.
In a not so dissimilar sense, there is a silent period of time between the Old Testament scripture and the New Testament scripture where the plan of salvation continued to move forward. During this silent period between the Old Testament and the New Testament, time continued to march forward to the birth of the Messiah. This period of time where anticipation and preparation continued to build.
If God were to provide another story during this silent period of time through a modern-day visionary, I cannot help but think the life of Zachariah would be an incredible gift. Imagine the glimpse we would get in terms of the spiritual life of the Jewish people around the time of our Savior’s birth and the continuity we could see between Judaism and its fulfillment in Catholicism.
We know Zachariah was a priest in the Temple. In fact, tradition (small “t” tradition) tells us he was one of the two priests I mentioned a few weeks ago that received Mary into the Temple when she dedicated her life to the Lord at her Presentation.
We know he was no stranger to encounters with God. He worked in the threshold of the Holy of Holies where the expectation to encounter the presence of God was the norm.
We know he and his wife were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
We know he was no stranger to miracle pregnancies. Certainly he was very familiar with the stories of the Old Testament, like the one about Samson in our first reading. More than that, his wife’s mother was likely sister to Saint Anne, the mother of Mary. Anne, according to tradition, was childless for many, many years before an angel announced she would become pregnant with Mary. Just as Mary was familiar with the miraculous pregnancy experienced by Elizabeth, Zachariah would have been familiar with the miraculous pregnancy experienced by Anne.
Even with all this, Zachariah still struggled to believe God would work miracles in his life. Perhaps some of us have that same struggle. There is much we can learn from Zachariah.
The life of Zachariah reminds us that simply being religious is no guarantee of having a personal relationship with God; however, diligently living the sacramental life in sincere faith conditions us to be open to the presence of God when the opportunity avails itself.
The life of Zachariah reminds us that busyness and distractions can prevent us from having a true encounter with Jesus Christ. This is a good time of the year to identify and eliminate these things in our lives and in turn, be more diligent about seeking Him out in adoration, prayer, and works of mercy.
The life of Zachariah reminds us that God has a story for each and every one of us ...a story of love and mercy. The only question is whether we will hold on to our own story, or will we let go and let God.
The life of Zachariah reminds us that every day is an opportunity to be in awe of God. Every day is an opportunity to recognize how He is at work in our lives and to give Him thanks. Every day is a day to be joyful of those gifts and to spread that joy to the world around us.
Today, and always, allow your mouth to be filled with His praise, and sing of His glory!
Thanks be to God!
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