December 14, 2003, Sunday, Third Week of AdventWhy Am I Doing This?
She lived alone, as so many do. And she felt it especially at Christmas, as so many do
Decorating her Christmas tree, she began to argue with herself, an argument she’d had several times before in these days before Christmas. “Why am I doing this? No one will see it, and I don’t need it.”
Then she heard herself say, “You have to do this. Not so that others will see it, but to remind yourself that the hope is real – not just words or a dream. It’s real. Jesus really did come. And so you really have a tree, and you decorate it, and you buy real gifts, and you go to Midnight Mass, and you have a real Christmas dinner. This is how you keep the hope alive and real.
***
The Parents of John the Baptist Zechariah was one of approximately 18,000 Jewish priests in Palestine at the time of Jesus.
They were divided in 24 groups of 750 each. Twice a year, each group came to the Temple in Jerusalem to serve for a week. Their roles during this week of service were chosen by lot. Some of them, in a given week, weren’t chosen to do anything.
Each morning four lots were cast to decide who would carry out the four tasks at the altar. Then in the afternoon a fifth lot was cast to determine who would enter the Holy Place to offer the evening incense. This extraordinary privilege usually came only once in a lifetime.
In Luke’s account, when the afternoon lot was cast, Zechariah was chosen to enter the Holy Place and offer the evening incense. It was there that the angel appeared to him to announce the birth of John
***
The name “Elizabeth” was not a common name in Jewish culture. The Hebrew word, “El”, means “God”. The name Elizabeth means “God is the fullness.”
Since she was a descendant of Aaron, Elizabeth was of priestly stock. This meant that any of her sons would be eligible to serve as a priest in the Temple.
Elizabeth, childless for many year, conceived and gave birth to the child about whom Jesus would one day say, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist."
Spend some quiet time with the Lord.