The holy prophet Zachary and his wife, the holy venerable Elizabeth, were the parents of the Forerunner John the Baptist. When she took her cousin Mary into her home, Elizabeth –full of the holy spirit– hailed the mother of the Lord as blessed among women. Zachary, a priest full of the prophetic spirit, praised God the redeemer and preached the near advent of Christ, the Dayspring from on high.
Arrayed as a priest, O wise Zechariah, you offered a worthy holocaust according to the law of God. You became a shining light and a witness to the mysteries, clearly bearing within you the signs of grace, O most wise one. You were slain by the sword in God’s temple. O prophet of God, together with the Forerunner, intercede with God that He may save our souls.
Today the prophet Zechariah, the priest of the Most High and the father of the Forerunner, has prepared a banquet for the faithful and mixed the drink of holiness. Therefore we praise him as a mystical witness of God’s grace.
Hebrews 6: 13-20
Brothers and sisters: When God made his promise to Abraham, he swore by himself, having no one greater to swear by, and said, “I will indeed bless you, and multiply you.” And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained what God had promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves; an oath gives firmness to a promise and puts an end to all argument. God, wishing to give the heirs of his promise even clearer evidence that his purpose would not change, guaranteed it by oath, so that, by two things that are unchangeable, in which he could not lie, we who have taken refuge in him might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope which is placed before us. Like a sure and firm anchor, that hope extends beyond the veil through which Jesus, our forerunner, has entered on our behalf, being made high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Luke 1: 5-25, 57-68, 76-80
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly order of Abijah; his wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron. Both were just in the eyes of God, blamelessly following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. They were childless, for Elizabeth was sterile; moreover, both were advanced in years.
Once, when it was the turn of Zechariah’s class and he was fulfilling his functions as a priest before God, it fell to him by lot according to priestly usage to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. While the full assembly of people was praying outside at the incense hour, an angel of the Lord appeared to Him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was deeply disturbed upon seeing him, and overcome with fear.
The angel said to him: “Do not be frightened, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son who you shall name John. Joy and gladness will be yours, many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He will never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. Many of the sons of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. God himself will go before him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers and their children and the rebellious to the wisdom of the just, and to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed.”
Zechariah said to the angel: “How am I to know this? I am an old man; my wife is too advanced in age.” The angel replied: “I am Gabriel, who stand in attendance before God. I was sent to speak to you and bring this good news. But now you will be mute–unable to speak–until the day these things take place, because you have not trusted my words. They will all come true in due season.” Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, wondering at his delay in the temple. When he finally came out he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision inside. He kept making signs to them, for he remained speechless.
Then, when his time of priestly service was over, he went home. Afterward, his wife Elizabeth conceived. She went into seclusion for five months, saying, “In these days the Lord is acting on my behalf; he has seen fit to remove my reproach among men.”
When Elizabeth’s time for delivery arrived, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives, upon hearing that the Lord has extended his mercy to her, rejoiced with her. When they assembled for the circumcision of the child on the eighth day, they intended to name him after his father Zechariah. At this his mother intervened, saying: “No, he is to be called John.”
They pointed out to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then, using signs, they asked the father what he wished him to be called. He signaled for a writing tablet and wrote the words, “His name is John.” This astonished them all. At that moment his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.
Fear descended on all in the neighborhood; throughout the hill country of Judea these happenings began to be recounted to the last detail. All who heard stored these things up in their hearts, saying, “What will this child be?” and, “Was not the hand of the Lord upon him?”
Then Zechariah, his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, uttered the prophecy, “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel because he has visited and ransomed his people. And you, O child, shall be called prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the Lord and prepare straight paths for him, giving his people a knowledge of salvation in freedom from their sins. All this is the work of the kindness of our God; he, the Dayspring, shall visit us in his mercy to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The child grew up and matured in spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he made his public appearance in Israel.
1 Corinthians 4:17 – 5:5
Brothers and sisters: I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ, just as I teach them in all the churches. Some have grown full of self-importance, thinking that I will not come to you. But I shall come to you soon, the Lord willing, and find out, not what they say, but what they can do. The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. Which do you prefer, that I come to you with a rod, or with love and a gentle spirit?
It is actually reported that there is lewd conduct among you of a kind not even found among the pagans-a man living with his father’s wife. Still you continue to be self-satisfied, instead of grieving, and getting rid of the offender! As for me, though absent in body I am present in spirit, and have already passed sentence in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the man who did this deed. United in spirit with you and empowered by our Lord Jesus, I hand him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Matthew 24: 1-13
At that time Jesus left the temple precincts, and his disciples came up and pointed out to him the buildings of the temple area. His comment was: “Do you see all these buildings? I assure you, not one stone will be left on another–it will all be torn down.” While he was seated on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: “Tell us, when will all this occur? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the world?”
In reply Jesus said to them: “Be on guard! Let no one mislead you. Many will come attempting to impersonate me. ‘I am the Messiah!’ they will claim, and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed. Such things are bound to happen, but that is not yet the end. Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another. There will be famine and pestilence and earthquakes in many places. These are the early stages of the birth pangs. They will hand you over to torture and kill you. Indeed, you will be hated by nations on my account. Many will falter then, betraying and hating one another. False prophets will rise in great numbers to mislead many. Because of the increase of evil, the love of most will grow cold. The man who holds out to the end, however, is the one who will see salvation.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Friday, September 4 –
