4TH WEEK OF ADVENT

You will have joy and gladness. 

Zechariah had spent so many years praying for a child that he had become accustomed to God’s silence. It’s no wonder, then, that he was terrified when God finally answered!

And what a set of questions this answer must have prompted! How would Zechariah have the energy to keep up with a young child? Did he and Elizabeth have the wherewithal to train and form a son with such an important mission? And just how radically would this event alter their everyday lives?

In answer, the angel told Zechariah about the joy that God had in store for him. He also foretold that the child’s mission would bring joy to many other people besides. He even offered some advice by outlining the way of life Zechariah’s son was to follow, just as an angel had instructed Manoah and his wife before Samson’s birth (Judges 13:4-7). And that was a good thing: neither Samson nor John the Baptist was an easy child to raise. They both had strong personalities, and they clearly didn’t blend in with the crowd.

It can be frightening when God answers prayers we have been making for a long time. We suddenly realize what an impact this change will have on us. We can no longer count on what had become familiar, even if it wasn’t ideal. With the gift come new challenges that invite us to grow and change.

Think, for instance, of first-time parents. Their lives have changed dramatically! The way they treat their child will affect every aspect of his or her life. This child will ask questions for which they will have no answers and present needs that they may not know how to meet. Their new vocation will test their relationship and drive them to depend on God in ways they had never imagined before. But despite all that, this new child will bring them so much joy and love that they will accept every challenge and learn how to weather every storm together.

If we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, even in the most stressful of situations, we’ll always find the grace we need to move forward. And finding that grace, we’ll also find reason to rejoice.

“Lord, help me never to lose sight of the joy that you have in store for me.”

Judges 13:2-7, 24-25
Psalm 71:3-6, 16-17
Luke 1:5-25