GOD’S SURPRISES

Homily for the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Tuesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time, 23 June 2020, Luke 1:5-17

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the Solemnity of the birth of St. John the Baptist. We are therefore celebrating this as a vigil Mass, and our Gospel prepares us for tomorrow with the story of the Annunciation to Zechariah, of the coming birth of John. It is of course a far cry from the more famous Annunciation to Mary that ends with her FIAT, namely, that line that we have immortalized in the Angelus, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.” Although the annuciation is by the same angel Gabriel, it is received differently. Sometimes I imagine it to have ben a rather stressful experience on the part of the poor archangel Gabriel.

But let us take our bit of good news for today from the fact that GOD DOES HEAR OUR PRAYERS. Sometimes late, but he answers nevertheless. Remember how Pope Francis once said something like this when he visited Tacloban in January 2015? “From the time I saw the news about the Philippines, I said I should be there. Here am I–a little late; but I am here nevertheless.”

The important thing is the discovery that God takes our prayers seriously; that he does not forget. He does answer, though not always in the way we expect him to. When? In His own good time. “Sa tamang panahon”, as they’d say in Tagalog.

The problem is, like Zechariah, we sometimes forget that we even asked at all. This is probably what aging can do to some people; not only can it make the memory fail, it can make them lose heart. It can also make them lose their sense of humor so that they turn grouchy; they can’t laugh at jokes anymore. They can become so hard to please and turn into killjoys. They can manifest a strong attitude of “nakita ko na iyan” or “been there, seen that”; such that they have nothing anymore to be excited about. Some of them might even develop a permanent frown on their faces that even Dr. Vicky Belo cannot do anything about. They can lose a sense of awe and wonder, a sense of grace and gratitude. They can’t be made to sing or dance anymore, least of all, “sing and dance in the rain”. They’d say, “I’m too old for that.” They hate surprises. I remember an old grandfather who walked out when his family gave him a surprise birthday party. For some people, a surpise can be too much of a stress.

That should be enough of a checklist for us to know if we might be growing old the wrong way already. Zechariah was already turning into an old grouch, when he was visited by the angel. And the poor angel Gabriel was in for a not-so-pleasant experience.

The opposite kind of aging is probably that of Elizabeth. Luke tells us she is old but still very spirited, the cries out in a loud voice when she welcomes Mary. Even the infant in her womb, would excitedly leap and dance with joy to welcome Mary and the child Jesus in Mary’s womb.

Perhaps the old priest Zechariah has become a slave of routine. That’s why he is not disposed for the angel’s good news. Luke tells us he was chosen by lot to burn incense in the sanctuary of the temple. He probably forgot that this ritual was supposed to recall how God had guided the Israelites in the desert with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

The angel couldn’t have found a better time to break into Zechariah’s life and appear to him than during this incense-burning ritual. This child whose coming birth the angel is announcing, was destined to take the place of that pillar of cloud. He would “go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” The angel’s good news is about the coming of the prophet who would lead the Israelite nation to their renewal and rebirthing.

No wonder Zechariah would need to be silenced for a while; otherwise he would just talk nonsense. It’s not until he hears the music of the baby John’s cry that he would later break into song about the God who has promised to “show mercy to his ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant forever.” In short, it was never too late for Zechariah to be young again. Ours is a God who is ever ancient and ever new, ever old and ever young.

I know, this pandemic has saddled you with lots of worries and anxieties. But please, don’t let it make you lose your joy and sense of meaning and purpose in life. Otherwise, you might be too indisposed to entertain a visit and receive a good news from the angel Gabriel.