19 December 2019 – Homily for the Thursday of the third week in Advent - Judges 13:2-7, 24-25A; Luke 1:5-25

       Today, in the Book of Judges, we hear of the birth of Samson, about how he is to be consecrated as a Nazarite.  His uncut hair was a symbol to the world of that consecration to God.  Samson was to be a sign of God’s love and salvation to his people.  Samson prefigures John the Baptist and John’s role as the one who prepares the way for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.  This connects us to our Gospel reading today, in which Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, receives the announcement of the upcoming birth of his son by the Angel Gabriel.  Zechariah was full of fear and disbelief at this announcement, being made mute on account of his disbelief. How different this is to the way Mary accepted God’s will for her into her life and trusted the word of the Lord.  

I thought about how families are so excited when there is a baptism of a child.  It is a way for the family to celebrate their faith and to place their hope in the faith that they want to pass down to their child.  During the rite of baptism, I as the priest announce to the parents that they are to be the first teacher sand the best of teachers in the faith to the child.  I also tell the parents that their children are going to learn about the faith in the way they see the faith being lived out in the lives of their parents, much more than their words.  As we talk about the importance of evangelizing our world in what the Church calls “the new evangelization,” I see parents in many ways as the most important evangelizers to their children and their families.  

Perhaps the message we should take away from the readings we hear today as we near the end of our Advent journey is that is not only for us prepare and wait for the coming of the Lord, but it is also important to see how the birth of our Savior affects the way we live our lives of faith.  As John the Baptist and Samson were consecrated to the Lord at the time of their birth, may we also consecrate our lives and our actions to his glory.  May we prepare a place for Jesus in our hearts every day of our lives.