“Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard.’” -Luke 1:12-13
“But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…’” -Luke 1:29-31
I think it would do much good to stop reading this blog right now and go read Luke 1:5-25 and compare and contrast it with Luke 1:26-38. In both cases an angel appears with a great message about a miraculous conception that will take place. In both cases the person to who the angel appears has questions. In one case the person who questioned is struck mute, and in the other case the person has their question answered.
Is this a case of injustice, or is there something fundamentally different about the questions? Can this tell us anything about Zechariah or Mary? I am going to spend a considerable amount of time looking at these two passages next week. I invite you to spend the weekend with these two passages. Read each of them a few times today and a few times tomorrow. Maybe read one in isolation and picture the scene and try to imagine what Mary or Zechariah felt or was thinking. Later, read the other and do the same thing. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you in the silence of your heart as you contemplate these two scenes. Have a great weekend, and I will begin delving into these on Monday.
 | About Pat Arensberg Patrick Arensberg is the Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Mobile. Previously, he taught for 17 years at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, where he served as Chairman of the Theology Department. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome and holds an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is married to Connie and they live in Mobile with their 5 children. |
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