20201219 BARRENNESS A TIME FOR PRAYERFUL WAITING
19 December, 2020, Saturday, 3rd Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Violet.
First reading |
Judges 13:2-7,24-25 © |
'You will conceive and bear a son'
There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb. It is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.’ Then the woman went and told her husband, ‘A man of God has just come to me; his presence was like the presence of the angel of God, he was so majestic. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not reveal his name to me. But he said to me, “You will conceive and bear a son. From now on, take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb to his dying day.”’
The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and the Lord blessed him; and the spirit of the Lord began to move him.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 70(71):3-6,16-17 © |
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my help.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse, set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save us,
and delay no more.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:5-25 © |
'Your wife Elizabeth will bear a son'
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 worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both getting on in years.
Now it was the turn of Zechariah’s section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom was, to enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense the whole congregation was 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, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must 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 sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’
Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure of 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. Listen! Since you have not believed 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 received 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. ‘The Lord has done this for me’ she said ‘now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered among men.’
BARRENNESS A TIME FOR PRAYERFUL WAITING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JUDGES 13:2-7,24-25; LUKE 1:5-25 ]
In the bible, in the cultural traditions of Israel and the Jews, a barren woman who could not give birth would be considered a shame, as what we read in today’s gospel. “Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept to herself. ‘The Lord has done this for me’ she said ‘now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered among men.'” Childlessness was even considered a valid ground for divorce. A woman without a child not only suffered social disadvantages but economic and financial stability as well. So to be childless was considered a tragedy and perhaps even punishment from God. Hence, we can understand all those women who were barren in the bible. In today’s scripture readings, Manoah and his wife, and Zechariah and Elizabeth, were childless.
Today, we have many couples who are childless not by choice but by nature. We can feel with them in their desire to have a child. Without a child the marriage would become stale and lack dynamism and life. A child brings a new dimension to the life of the couple and their love could be shared with the child, which is the fruit of their love. That is why, a childless couple must share their love with the larger community, especially those without love, otherwise their love will stagnate and die eventually. Love must grow to be alive. Love is always fruitful.
But the barrenness of the women is also a symbol of the barrenness of the spiritual life and faith of Israel. Introducing the story of Manoah and his wife, we read that the Israelites “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.” (Jdg13:1) They were spiritually barren for forty years before the Lord sent Samson to rescue them from their enemies. It was true for the Jews during the time of the intertestamental period. After the prophet Malachi who wrote in 435 B.C., prophecy was silenced for 400 years. It also indicated the spiritual dryness of the Jews. John the Baptist was therefore thought to be the Elijah that was to come before the Coming of the Lord, as prophesied by Malachi. “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse. (Mal 4:5) Although Zechariah was a priest, and although both he and his wife were righteous people, observing the commandments of God obediently and meticulously, yet it was a reminder that observance of God’s laws in themselves alone cannot bear much fruit. What was needed is faith. Only faith is pleasing to the Lord.
So, too, is our barrenness in life. Some of us feel barren because life has not been kind to us. We feel we are not making progress in our personal life, our relationship and our career. We feel that life has not been fair to us. Our marriage is stale if not broken down already. The relationships that we have cultivated do not last and often end up soured and wounded. Our health has not been good either. Our children are not doing well in their studies. Our projects have met with little success. And the list goes on and on. We feel that God has abandoned us. Life has no meaning and purpose. We feel we are failures, like Elizabeth.
In such a situation, we tend to give up hope all together. This was the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth. We can be sure that they must have prayed for years to have a child. But their prayer was never answered. They would have given up hope already, considering that they were old and had made other plans for their future. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to them. “Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must 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.” The angel confirmed the prophecy of Malachi when he said, “Even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.” But it was too good to believe that it was true. How could it be possible? “Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.'” He was doubtful, even considering the fact that it was an angel that spoke to him. He lacked faith in God that He could do the impossible in spite also of the fact that he would have read all the Old Testament stories of miraculous birth, including Isaac, Samson and Samuel.
Because of this lack of faith, the angel took away his speech. “Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.” Silencing Zechariah was a way for the angel to convey the powerful message that God’s awesome wonders cannot be communicated merely by words. The mystery of God ultimately cannot be conveyed in words. We have to see in order to believe, to experience in order to know. By doubting the voice of God from the angel, he would be silenced until he hears the voice of the forerunner of the Word, John the Baptist. It paves the way for God to affirm John the Baptist as the one who would be the voice for the Word. He was just a voice crying out in the wilderness. (Jn 1:23)
We too must learn from the experience of Samson and John the Baptist’s parents. The time of barrenness must not be seen as wasted time. It is a time for us to reflect on our lives. It is a time of silent prayer and contemplation. Zechariah was silenced so that he could reflect on what the Lord was doing for him and going to do with his son, John the Baptist in the future. It was a time of preparation. In our barrenness, instead of thinking that God is not with us, we must use the silence to hear the Word of God speaking to us in our hearts. If we speak prematurely, then we will only listen to ourselves. So for the Lord to speak His word to us and for us to hear, we must be silent so that we can hear Him clearly.
Secondly, we are called to respect God’s time. Everything is in His plans. His time is the best time. His way is the best way. We should not force our plans and our time on Him. He knows when to act and how to act. All we need is to surrender our lives and our plans to Him. At the right time, God listened to Israel’s plea for mercy by sending them Samson to protect them from the Philistines. And He did it in His own way by allowing a childless couple to bear him. So, too, in the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth. In spite of his disbelief in God’s plan, God still worked through His plan. It was the same for Samson. The real gift he had was his extraordinary strength. But in his personal life, he was not holy as John the Baptist was. He lived an ordinary life and was not known for his sanctification. Yet God used such people to fulfill His purpose and plan. So we should never doubt the wisdom and power of God. He will do what is necessary for our salvation but in His time and in His way.
Thirdly, whilst waiting in hope and expectancy, we need to consecrate our lives to God. That was what Samson and John the Baptist did. They took the Nazirite vow, which was a vow to consecrate their lives to God by not cutting their hair, taking strong wine and alcohol, and not touching dead bodies. We must be like them and, like Zechariah, spend time in prayer. God will then fill us with the Holy Spirit as He did with Samson and John the Baptist. God will give us a new beginning just as He did for Israel. The mention of Herod the Great, who was the last king of the Jews, meant that God was waiting to give something new to Israel so that the promises made to King David would be fulfilled. With the coming of Christ, there would be a new beginning for Israel and for the entire world. So let us prepare our empty hearts to allow Him to be born again in us when we will hear Him again.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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