Breaking the Word

GOSPEL READING: LUKE 1:67-79

A person who is filled with the Holy Spirit always prophesied. Here prophecy is not fore-telling the events that were going to take place rather it is proclaiming the process of salvation. It is blessing God. It is announcing the continuous works of God. It is revealing the presence of god here and now.

Here Zechariah, like a prophet, recognizes the presence of God in the events of his life and he realizes the fulfillment of the promises of God to his ancestors. God’s main activity is to save the people. Zechariah recognizes the working of this salvation in his life. Knowledge of this salvation through the forgiveness of sin is the activity of everyone for everyone.

இறைவாக்கு கூறுதல் என்பது நிகழப்போவதை முன்அறிவிப்பது மட்டுமல்ல மாறாக உலக நிகழ்வுகளில் இறைவனைக்காண்பது. இறைவன் காட்டும் மீட்பு பாவமன்னிப்பு வழியாக நிறைவேறுகிறது என்பதை உணர்ந்து வெளிப்படுத்துவதாகும். இது தனது வாழ்விலும் நிகழ்கிறது என்பதை உணர்தல்தான் சிறந்த இறைவாக்கு உரைத்தலாகும்.

GOSPEL READING: LUKE 1:57-66

Birth of a child was a celebration in those days. Celebration reached its peak because a barren woman gave birth to a son. Relatives and friends gathered around the family to celebrate. The celebration was centred on the idea that God had shown mercy. Birth of every child was divine action. God was praised and thanked for the birth of a child.

Naming of the child was again another occasion in which God’s divine action was celebrated. It was all the more in the case of John because the name was given from God. It was not a social event. They were not naming him after his father or his forefathers. Name was a divine revelation. In this triple celebration Zacharias praised and blessed God for his divine intervention; for his covenant; for his promise and for his revelation.

பெயரிடுவதில் இறைதிட்டம் வெளிப்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. இது சமுதாய நிகழ்வைவிட சிறந்தது. அது ஒரு இறை வெளிப்பாடு. பெயரும் பணியும் இறை வெளிப்பாடே.