Today our Synod commemorates the parents of St. John the Baptist: Zacharias and Eliabeth. Luke 1 recounts their story. My favorite line in that chapter is when Elizabeth greets her kinswoman, the most holy Virgin, and - I can't help but see it this way - cuts her eyes away from Mary over to the old man sitting silent in the corner and says: "Blessed is she who BELIEVED (unlike you, you old goat!), for there will be a fulfillment of what was told her by the Lord!"
Okay, okay. So it's not EXACTLY put that way in St. Luke, but I think it is highly plausible - and IF she did cut her eyes over to Zacharias, I'll bet his shoulders were shaking with holy laughter and agreeing with his wife. The blessed Virgin believed the angel's words and spoke her fiat: "Let it be to me." Zacharias staggered at the angel's promise and asked for some sort of a sign to know it would be so. He received his silence as the sign. But I don't think he cared one little bit: God was keeping his promise to give a child to Zacharias and Elizabeth! And such a child! One who would truly "go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins."
Remembering holy Zacharias and Elizabeth, we join the Church in crying out to them:
Respond, ye souls, in endless rest,
Ye patriarch and prophets blest!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Ye holy twelve, Ye martyrs strong,
All saints triumphant join the song.
Alleluia! Allelluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! (LSB 670, stanza 3)
Well said. Thanks.
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