Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a, Psalm 71:3-6, 16-17, Luke 1:5:25
My Beloved, God can make fruitful that which is barren as He did with the wife of Manoah, Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth and then wonder of all wonders, a Virgin is chosen by God to become a Mother and not only a Mother but the Mother of God no less through divine intervention. The power, the overshadowing, the humility and above all the love of God and the 'fiat' of the Virgin made it possible for the God of Love to become Emmanuel, God with us. No mother ever bore a son like the Son of Man and the Son of God.
Samson was consecrated by God to liberate God's people from the oppression of the Philistines. You my Beloved, are the very Word of God who became Incarnate of the Virgin Mary who came to free people of all time from the first to the last, the greatest to the least from the oppression and slavery of sin and death.
You my Beloved became the Son of Man from the womb of Your Mother while remaining the Son of God eternally begotten by the Father.
My Beloved, in the visit of the Angel, the conception and birth of Samson and the promises of God we see a foreshadow and a promise of what was to come centuries later. Hidden and veiled we see dimly the awesome plan God would eventually unfold to the world in order to save His poor, sinful creatures.
Psalm 71:3-6, 16-17
My Beloved, my Rock, my Stronghold, my Deliverer, my Refuge, my Help, my Strength, my Life and my Love, You are the God of Love who came into the world to save us from the jaws of death and the vile and deadly snares of the enemy. You rescue us from the slavery of sin. You are our hope. We place all our trust in You for we know that You never fail or disappoint. Endless songs of praise, adoration, worship and thanksgiving are due to You always and in every circumstance.
To You I run. In You I hide. You lift me up and shelter me. No harm will come to me. No evil can touch me. No one can snatch me away from You. I nestle against Your breast just at the beloved disciple once did and I am content. May my life witness the greatness of Your love and the marvels of Your work.
Luke 1:5:25
My Beloved, like all young people both Zechariah and Elizabeth expected to have children who are the fruit of love in marriage. But as year succeeded year and they remained childless they continued to hope, dream, pray and conceal their fears and disappointment until at last hope slowly dimmed as Zechariah got old and she herself grew past the child bearing age and the last vestiges of hope was extinguished.
She had to carry the weight of being barren as well as the public humiliation to which she was exposed at being unable to give her husband a son and heir. Both she and her husband were good and God fearing and they bore their sorrow with grace.
And then God moved. He knew the plans He had for them as He watched over them tenderly as they bravely faced life with courage despite the sorrow they each carried in their heart. When the time is right God moves, He takes charge and wonderful things start to happen.
The Angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah while he is serving in the temple and he receives an extraordinary message that his wife will conceive in her old age and bear a son. The name he is to give him is John and he will be given a mission to fulfill. Zechariah who is a priest and knows Scripture well is well aware that this has happened in the past as well. Barren women have conceived and have borne children and yet he dared to point out to the Angel that they were both old and his wife was past her child-bearing years. He, who better than anyone else ought to have known that with God all things are possible. Rightly his lips were sealed until the promise was fulfilled and the child was born. Only when he indicated that the baby's name was John was his tongue loosed and by then a thoroughly chastened and grateful old man he sang a most beautiful canticle of prophecy an grateful praise to God.
As for Elizabeth, she was able to shake off her burden of sorrow and rejoice at the great thing God had done for her.
No matter what our circumstances may be, no matter how hopeless a situation may appear, we must know that God, our God is One who saves.
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