advent day ten

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and  regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

Luke 1: 5-11

Expecting God to show up?

The Christmas story is full of surprises. God as a baby? Shepherds hearing the good news? Exotic visitors from the Orient kneeling in the straw?

But Zechariah’s part in the story shouldn’t have been such a surprise. Look at his credentials– it would be hard to find anyone in Israel more deserving of a visit from an angel than Zechariah!

Let’s not forget that God loves it when we worship him. He loves it when we read and obey His word. He loves to see us meeting together to pray. He longs for us to invite him to turn up too!

Let’s pray that our carol singing, our Crib services, our midnight masses and our Sundays are fragrant with the presence of God

Jesus said “Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you.”

Matthew 18: 20

Come Holy Spirit