Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, December 22, 2020
by Daniel D. Maurer, Clergy Stuff
The Gospel of Luke regularly pairs stories of men with complementary stories of women. This is the first of many. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in a vision to announce that he and Elizabeth would bear a son. Immediately following this story is Gabriel’s announcement to Mary about Jesus. This is one way wherein the Lukan author tries to elevate the status of women.
In this story, Zechariah is slow to believe and it (temporarily) costs him his voice. The barren Elizabeth’s pregnancy would have to speak for itself.
There are many times when words do not speak as loudly as actions or events. During these times, it’s important we take stock at what’s happening around us, and thoroughly take the actions we know in our hearts to be necessary. It’s not always easy. No. It rarely is. When God stirs in us to live out God’s love, we’ll find that, in retrospect, it wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be.
God, stir in my heart a conviction to love.
