Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 1,5-25

In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron.

Both were upright in the sight of God and impeccably carried out all the commandments and observances of the Lord.

But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years.

Now it happened that it was the turn of his section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God

when it fell to him by lot, as the priestly custom was, to enter the Lord's sanctuary and burn incense there.

And at the hour of incense all the people were outside, praying.

Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense.

The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear.

But the angel said to him, 'Zechariah, do not be afraid, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you shall name him John.

He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth,

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink; even from his mother's womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,

and he will bring back many of the Israelites to the Lord their God.

With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the good sense of the upright, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.'

Zechariah said to the angel, 'How can I know this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.'

The angel replied, 'I am Gabriel, who stand in God's presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.

Look! Since you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.'

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he stayed in the sanctuary so long.

When he came out he could not speak to them, and they realised that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. But he could only make signs to them and remained dumb.

When his time of service came to an end he returned home.

Some time later his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept to herself, saying,

'The Lord has done this for me, now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered in public.'

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Gospel of Luke opens with the angel speaking to the priest Zechariah in the temple and telling him about the birth of a son, John. The old couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, did not have any children because they were sterile. Now they were old and they no longer expected anything but the end of their lives. Their future had been decided and they had no other hopes but that of death. In this old couple we can see the lives of many other elderly men and women who are resigned to spending the last years of their lives more or less sad and often alone and, in any event, with no hope for their future. This is a condition, which in our opulent society becomes increasingly frequent and, if possible, even more cruel. Fortunately, the progress of medicine helps to lengthen the years of life, but unfortunately it also lengthens the time of loneliness and sadness: fewer people care now about elderly people and very few spend time talking with them. But in the temple God sends an angel who tells Zechariah that his wife will have a child. Zechariah thinks it is impossible. The lack of hope is so rooted in his heart that he is hopeless before any newness. It is too much, the elderly priest thinks. And resignation wins over the angel's word. This is what happens to us when we allow resignation to win in our hearts. This resignation makes us incredulous at the evangelical word. The strength and love of the Lord often collide with our disbelief. It happens to us, as it happened to Zechariah, we remain as if mute, unable to speak and unable to hope. Those who do not listen to the Word of God, cannot even speak, cannot say words of hope to themselves and even to other people. If we welcome God's love, if we let the angel's word reach our heart, our unbelief and our sterility will be overcome. We will be then able to see a new future, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, we will be able to conceive a new future, a new world, a new fraternity. No one is so old that cannot hear the Gospel and create a better future for themselves and for other people. This is the meaning of Christmas that we are preparing to celebrate.