Muted Messenger

Gospel: Lk 1. 57-66

First Reading: Mal 3. 1-4, 23-24

Both the Gospel and First Reading speak of the idea of a “Messenger”, whose duty is to go before and prepare the way of the Lord. In the strict sense, the messenger does not bring the Good News, because it is Christ who brings the Good News, and the Good News himself. What the messenger does is to:

1.  Remind – God cares. That even life is complicated, God cares; that even our decision and liberty sway, doing evil than doing what is pleasing to God, God cares; that even there are multitudes of suffering and evil things around us, God cares.

2.    Convince – God’s plan of salvation will happen and will succeed. It would seem that the plan of God is thwarted by the unfaithfulness of the ‘many’ but fortunately, there are ‘some few’ who remain faithful to Him, and through them we have hope that it will happen in due time.

There is Salvation because of two great truths:

1.    We have a loving, forgiving, merciful and good God in our midst. His faithfulness is to the extent that He will never give up on us, nor will abandon or leave us.

2.    We sinned and therefore in need of salvation. We need to be saved from our ‘forgetfulness’, from our ‘failures’, from our being 'complacent' and being 'arrogant'.

The first reading speaks of the promised Messenger after pointing out to the priests and the people of Israel how they turned their backs on the Lord. As I see it, “condemnation” is not the message of God’s salvation, but it is “mercy and compassion”.

God is actively working as we have already realized. Now, our cooperation is what is being asked from us. We have to do our part. We can never be passive in the work of God.

Faith is an important element in our participation and cooperation with God. Faith is but the complete submission of will to the highest Truth. It will be tested in the course of time which may prompt us to make a detour: doubt, give up, arrogantly challenge God. This is precisely what happened to Zechariah who posed the wrong question, “Really??” As a consequence he became ‘mute’ for a long period of nine months. Sometimes it takes us that long to realize and acknowledge the goodness of the Lord, to believe that He is God.

Faith motivated by love makes our hope stronger, clearer and more desirable.

Things happen for a reason. Things happen, whether good or not so good because it is motivated by love, by that Great Love, who is the reason why despite of everything we can still have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.