Luke begins his Gospel by telling his readers that he has interviewed eye witnesses to the events in Jesus’ life as well as examined the written records, which probably included the Gospel of Mark and perhaps Matthew’s Gospel. Luke made every effort to fully investigate all available sources of information from which to prepare this Gospel. I believe it was God inspiring and leading Luke to prepare this account and Luke took very seriously this call on his life and did all he could to prepare himself to accurately record the Good News of Jesus. Thank you St. Luke!
I believe the Gospel was written between 60 and 70 AD and I find it interesting that even after sixty years the story of Zachariah’s response to Gabriel was still being told. There was no effort to make Zachariah look better by hiding his unbelief. This is important to me because it affirms that God chooses to work through real people. God did not call Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu because she was saintly. He called her because he knew that as she trusted God with her whole life, the world would come to know her as Mother Teresa.
Zachariah’s story also affirms to me that God requires accountability from His follower’s. Zachariah had been a follower of God for many years but he almost missed God’s greatest blessing. Through Zachariah and Elizabeth God was preparing the way for his Messiah and he was not going to be denied. However, after being struck mute by Gabriel, Zachariah was pretty much reduced to a bystander for nine months as he could no longer perform his priestly duties in the Temple.
All of God’s people are called to be messengers of the good news of God’s love and our hope in God for the here and now and for eternity. Zachariah’s story reminds me that my unbelief, my failure to obey God’s commands, compromises my experience of God’s presence in my life in the here and now.
God has done his part by becoming Emmanuel, God with us. Now I get to do my part so that I can experience Emmanuel in my life.
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
22-Dec-11 Luke 1:26-38
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