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| "The Vision of Zechariah" -- by James Tissot |
FIRST
READING: Judges
13: 2 - 7, 24 - 25
2
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites,
whose name was Mano'ah; and his wife was barren and had no children.
3
And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,
"Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall
conceive and bear a son.
4
Therefore beware, and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing
unclean,
5
for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon
his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he
shall begin to deliver Israel
from
the hand of the Philistines."
6
Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to
me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God,
very terrible; I did not
ask
him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name;
7
but he said to me, `Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; so
then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the
boy shall be a Nazirite to God
from
birth to the day of his death.'"
24
And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; and the boy
grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Ma'haneh-dan, between
Zorah and Esh'ta-ol.
PSALM:
Psalms 71:
3 - 6, 16 - 17
3
Be thou to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for
thou art my rock and my fortress.
4
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of
the unjust and cruel man.
5
For thou, O Lord, art my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6
Upon thee I have leaned from my birth; thou art he who took me from
my mother's womb. My praise is continually of thee.
16
With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come, I will praise thy
righteousness, thine alone.
17
O God, from my youth thou hast taught me, and I still proclaim thy
wondrous deeds.
GOSPEL:
Luke 1:
5 - 25
5
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named
Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was
Elizabeth.
6
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were
advanced in years.
8
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was
on duty,
9
according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to
enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the
hour of incense.
11
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right
side of the altar of incense.
12
And Zechari'ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for
your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall call his name John.
14
And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his
birth;
15
for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor
strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from
his mother's womb.
16
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
17
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli'jah, to turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just, to make
ready
for the Lord a people prepared."
18
And Zechari'ah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I
am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."
19
And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the
presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you
this good news.
20
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that
these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled in their
time."
21
And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah, and they wondered at his
delay in the temple.
22
And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived
that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them
and remained dumb.
23
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months
she hid herself, saying,
25
"Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me,
to take away my reproach among men."
