Waiting in Astonishment
He signaled for a writing tablet and wrote the words, “His name is John.” This astonished them all. At that moment his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. (Lk 1:63-64)
Zechariah regained his speech once the angel Gabriel’s prophecy was fulfilled. Nine months of muted waiting had come to an end. What a relief that must have been for him! What was the first thing he did? He used his loosed tongue to praise God. Rather than curse him for the trouble he’d been put through, he thanked him for teaching him a valuable lesson about faith.
God mutes me at various times in my life. It might not be an actual loss of speech, but there are times when he commands me to be still and know that he is God. There are times when there’s absolutely nothing else I can – or should – do except to let God work things out in his own way. I usually don’t like those times much. They’re a lot of trouble to be put through. Yet, I need to appreciate what God’s doing for me in spite of the inconvenience. Once he’s loosed my tongue, I need to praise him.
Mary, in the spirit of Zechariah, I want to praise God for all he’s done in my life – both the great times and the troubled ones. Give me the grace I need to do so.
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