Theme of First Week of Advent: Hope
Daily Scripture:
In the time of Herod king of Judea
there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of
Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were
upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and
regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was
barren; and they were both well along in years. Once when Zechariah's division
was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot,
according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord
and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the
assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared
to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw
him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him:
"Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will
be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he
will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other
fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many
of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will
go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of
the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Zechariah asked
the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well
along in years." The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the
presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good
news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this
happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their
proper time." Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and
wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not
speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept
making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was
completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and
for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for
me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away
my disgrace among the people." - Luke 1:5-25
Reflection:
Just as Elizabeth and Zechariah waited for the birth of a son, so sometimes we must wait for Hope to be fulfilled. What does your Hope look like and why do you wait for it?
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