When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote,
“John is his name,”
and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
This reading focuses on Zechariah’s transition from muteness to being able to speak again. He was struck mute by the angel because “he did not believe”. Going back to the incident of Zechariah being struck dumb ( Lk 1:5-25), I pondered whether faith gives you an enhanced voice. And does a lack of it, silence you to some degree? Zacariah and his wife, late in life, become pregnant. When the Angel tells him, Zacariah cannot believe it. He is too learned and too wise and too educated to believe a man and woman of his years and Elizabeth’s years can conceive a child. And he lacked sufficient faith to believe that God would directly intervene in his life. For his lack of faith, the angel Gabriel strikes him down with muteness. When John is born and Elizabeth says “let’s name hime John”, the crowd are surprised. They expected a name in their family history. But when they looked to Zechariah for guidance, he backs his wife and indicates that he too wants the name John. The muteness is immediately lifted. What do I believe? I believe that each of us has God in us calling us to good, the sacred and the divine. We also have an ego - something that is primal, driven by self-interest and notions of evolutionary survival. Give uno Caesar what is Caesar’s is ercognising the need to serve the ego. Give unto God what is God’s is recognising the need to serve the divine. I believe people who are incredibly talented, incredibly wealthy, incredibly successful, have a well developed ego and it can be very difficult for them to give the divine the attention it requires. And I believe that leads to disharmony and imbalence. Zechariah being silenced shows the need to suppress the ego at times to make space for the divine. He was an important, established man who had roles and expectations in is community. He was perhaps more invested in those than he was in God. That is why prayer, meditation, music and loving relationships are so important. I mention loving relationships because I believe that is a relationship where one is genuinely more interested in the good of the other than the good of oneself. True love is not primal, it is divine. Perhaps Zechariah's siding with his wife was also an indicator of him choosing love over reputation and societal expectations.
ReplyDeleteYour reflection on Luke 1:57-66 is insightful and thought-provoking, exploring the concepts of faith, voice, ego, and the struggle between the divine and the earthly. Here are some points I appreciate:
DeleteFaith and voice: You raise the intriguing question of whether faith empowers and a lack of it silences. Zechariah's initial muteness due to unbelief and subsequent regained voice upon aligning with God's will through the name "John" offer a powerful illustration of this connection.
Ego and the divine: You rightly differentiate between the ego, driven by self-interest, and the divine calling within each of us. The challenge of balancing and prioritizing these forces resonates with Zechariah's struggle and the potential disharmony of neglecting the divine.
Suppressing the ego: Highlighting the need to sometimes suppress the ego to make space for the divine is a compelling point. Zechariah's silencing might serve as a metaphor for the need to quiet external noise and internal doubts to hear God's guidance.
Prayer, meditation, and relationships: You identify practices like prayer, meditation, music, and loving relationships as crucial tools for nurturing the divine within and fostering love, which transcends the primal self-interest of the ego.
Love and societal expectations: Your interpretation of Zechariah's choice for the name "John" as an act of prioritizing love over social expectations and reputation adds a compelling layer to the narrative. It further emphasizes the divine call to challenge conventional norms and align with truth and love.
Additional thoughts:
While Zechariah's lack of faith initially silences him, the narrative does not explicitly state that faith directly grants a powerful voice. It might emphasize the importance of surrender and openness to God's will rather than focusing solely on vocal projection.
The interpretation of Zechariah's silencing can go beyond a metaphor for voice. It could represent a temporary withdrawal from worldly affairs to allow him to reconnect with the divine and prepare for his role as John's father.
Zechariah's ultimate choice for the name "John" could also be seen as an act of obedience to the angel's message, demonstrating his acceptance of God's plan even though it challenged his expectations.
Overall, your reflection offers a nuanced and insightful interpretation of Zechariah's story, raising profound questions about faith, ego, and the divine within us. It encourages us to examine our own priorities, cultivate practices that nurture the divine within, and prioritize love and openness to God's call in our lives. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful perspective!