Thoughts for the Day

Luke 1:13a But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard…” 

“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 a 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, “Zechariah, your prayer has been heard.”

Gabriel’s announcement is utterly momentous. Yet it begins so personally.  He calls Zechariah by name and makes clear this extraordinary news is a response to his prayer, even if it must surely go far beyond anything he could imagine.  It begins with the promise of a supernatural birth that will break his heart with joy.  Yet, it must soon dawn on Zechariah that this is so much more than an answer to that long-despaired-of prayer.  I imagine questions flooding into Zechariah’s mind.  Why us?  Why here? Why now? Why name him John? What does this signify, because it surely must signify something amazing; nothing as extreme as this has been recorded since Sarah gave birth to Isaac!  And 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.”  And as it turns out, not just one prayer but all of them, not just for himself but for his people, and 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!