Advent, 19 December – Judges 13:2-7,24-25; Luke 1:5-25

Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense (Luke 1:11).

God, who is the Lord of the impossible, listens to the prayer of a man. Into the life of the elderly priest Zechariah an extraordinary upheaval enters. The intervention of the archangel Gabriel and the announcement of the birth of a child causes him amazement. His faith had not yet reached a sufficient level and depth. And as a result of the doubt in his faith, Zechariah was struck dumb until the time John the Baptist came into the world.

God intervenes on earth in a way, a place and a time known only to Himself. He doesn’t hold back because of human fear or amazement because He is God of the impossible. His presence is a call to listen to the word of life. “The length of his ‘wave’ he reveals to those who pray to him and listen to him in silence” (Cardinal Léon-Joseph Suenens).