Thoughts for the Day

Luke 1:11-17a But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.  He will be a joy and delight to you and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.  He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel he will bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah …”

“Your prayer has been heard.”    Imagine that!  Imagine you’ve been praying, and Gabriel appears and tells you your prayer has been heard.  How would you react?  If at this moment there had been time to pause and reflect, which I very much doubt there was, I wonder if Zechariah would have asked himself which prayer had been heard.  The narrative suggests that he had long since given up praying for a child.  It seems more likely that, as the priest having this honour for just this one day, he was making intercession for the people, probably using some form of prescribed liturgy including praying for the Davidic king who would ultimately rescue the nation.  I wonder, after 400 years of God’s silence and given the entrenched Roman occupation, would he have declared such a prayer with confidence and expectancy, or simply mouthed it in dutiful repetition of long-standing tradition?  But, as the fragrant smoke rises symbolising his prayers on the nation’s behalf being carried to God, Gabriel appears and announces, “Your prayer has been heard.”  And the answer is utterly momentous.  It begins personally, with a supernatural birth that will break his heart with joy.  But as the message continues, as Zechariah listens to the instructions for his son’s upbringing and the nature of his life’s mission, he cannot fail to recognise the messianic implications of what he is hearing.  “Your prayer has been heard.”  Not just one prayer but all of them, not just heard but answered.  For Gabriel is announcing, that at last, after long years of waiting and despite all the evidence to the contrary in the world around, his God is on the move!