By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily on the last night of Simbang Gabi, the traditional Filipino novena in preparation for Christmas. The Mass was celebrated Dec. 23, 2024 at St. Rose of Lima Church, Miami Shores.
During Advent, the Scriptures tell us that we can dare to hope because God does keep his promises. In the Old Testament, God’s people hoped against all hope.
Certainly, there was a long time between the giving of the promise and its fulfillment in a surprising and unexpected way, with the birth of a Child in Bethlehem. Yet it is the promise that informs the hope of the people; it is the promise that gives direction to their lives. Thus, as we see in the first reading from the prophet, Malachi, when their exile in Babylonia came to an end, a remnant of those who still believed returns to rebuild their lives in the hope that God would keep his promises. To this faithful remnant, Malachi addresses himself, encouraging them to remember God’s fidelity and thus to be always grateful to him.
It is also Malachi, the last of the prophets in the Old Testament, who prophesizes that the Lord will send Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers.
And, of course, that prophesy is fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist about whose birth the gospel reading tells us the birth of John the Baptist.
Here again, we see that God does fulfill his promises but, he does so in his own time and in his own ways. In this short gospel reading, we see how our God is a God of surprises. He accomplishes his will in unexpected ways. First, he does so by giving Elizabeth and Zechariah the gift of a son, even in their old age, at a time when they thought that their prayers had gone unanswered. Second, he surprises by the name given the child, John. There was no one named John among Zechariah’s relatives and circle of friends. Yet, the name John means “God is gracious” and he will be the Herald of that Grace. And third, Zechariah’s handicap is taken away: after nine months of silence, he speaks, and his first words are words of praise for God.
Remember that Zechariah lost his voice when he doubted what the angel told him when he was offering worship in the temple. You can imagine how after years of praying for a child, he did not think it likely that now in her old age Elizabeth would bear him a son. And so, the angel gave him some time of enforced silence to think things over.
Nine months is a long time to go without speaking. Despite his faith — and we shouldn't doubt that Zechariah was a man of faith — it may be that Zechariah was expecting his hopes to unfold according to his plan rather than according to God's design. Sound familiar? How often, rather than praying the way Jesus would teach us, ”Father, thy will be done”; we pray “Father, my will be done”? Expecting God to answer our prayers according to our expectations could blind us to the unanticipated graces he sends our way. And so, those nine months of silence were perhaps more a “gift” than a “punishment”.
We can almost hear the words of Zechariah's son, whose words have resonated throughout the season of Advent. "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths" (Luke 3:4). Without preparation, we may not be ready to discern the will of God, much less act upon it. And, Zechariah’s silence more than likely afforded him the opportunity to meditate on and contemplate the work that the Lord was already accomplishing through his wife and him. In fact, when the child is given his name, his tongue is freed and in the verses that follow Luke presents us with Zechariah’s “Benedictus”: a beautiful canticle sung at Lauds, the morning prayer of the Church each day. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people" (Luke 1:68).
So, Zechariah used his time of silence well. And we can learn from his example. God's will is not always clear to us. Sometimes, like Zechariah, we seem to be fumbling in the dark, seeking understanding. In the midst of these experiences, we have to learn the lesson of patient faith. If we don’t give ourselves time to “listen” to God speaking to us, in his word, in the events of our lives, we will miss out on hearing the good news, the Gospel of Joy.
As Advent comes to an end, we thank God for keeping his word to us, and we can best show our gratitude for his fidelity by asking him to help us keep our word to him and to each other. He comes to us as the gift of the Father, a gift that invites us to have the confidence to make a few promises ourselves. Our life in Christ begins with our making promises, the promises of our baptism in which we renounce sin and Satan and promise to live as children of God, making Christ the center of our lives.
God’s gift of himself to us as Christmas is not to be taken for granted. It should be taken with gratitude.
