By ALICE von HILDEBRAND
Reading the Bible can be puzzling. A case in point is the beginning of St. Luke’s Gospel. He relates how the priest Zechariah (or Zacharias) had entered the temple of the Lord to fulfill his priestly function of burning incense. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and informed him that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, would give him a son. His response was fear. The angel told him not to be afraid and that his son’s birth would be a cause of joy to many. But, Zacharias insisted, “How can this be, for I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). The angel then revealed his name, Gabriel, and informed Zacharias that because of his lack of faith, he would lose his power of speech until the birth of his child.
Some six months later, the very same angel went to Nazareth and appeared to a young virgin named Mary, and broke to her still more amazing news: she was to conceive and bear a son whose name would be Jesus. Like Zacharias, she too was greatly troubled and raised the very same question as Zacharias: “How can this be, for I know not man.” But unlike Zacharias, Mary was not punished by dumbness; upon pronouncing the words, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy words,” the Holy Spirit covered her and the Savior of the world was conceived in her womb.
We are presented here with two seemingly identical scenarios: In both cases, an angel informs two persons of extraordinary happenings which would revolutionize their lives. Both respond with fear; both raise the very same question. One of them is punished; the other is rewarded by receiving the most incredible gift: a divine Child.
The angel provides us the answer: Zacharias was chastised because of his lack of faith — “because you did not believe my words.” Mary’s questioning — far from being a lack of belief — was an expression of her chaste humility and her holy modesty; she immediately believed, for she knew that all things are possible with God.
Striking as the similarity between these two situations may be, a careful screening of the text of St. Luke reveals the respective attitudes of the two privileged persons were truly at antipodes: his expressed doubt; hers, belief.
You can now see, dear friend, that identical words can sometimes carry opposite meaning; the very tone of Zacharias’ voice betrayed his lack of faith.
You see once again how careful we have to be. Misleading similarities can lead us into grievous errors. I am sure that, from now on, you will keep this in mind.
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