Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 / Luke 1:5-25
In the two readings of today, there is a tone of an initial misfortune.
A married couple having no children was an embarrassment to society at that time, and some people may even think that the couple is under some kind of curse.
The couple themselves would feel ashamed that they have no descendants, because the family line would be terminated.
But for the two couples in today's readings, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Manoah and his wife, they were blessed for their faithfulness to each other and to God.
Because for the Jewish people at that time, being barren or sterile could be grounds for divorce.
Also the unfortunate couple would be subjected to slanting looks and wagging tongues that poke and cut till they wilt and fade and eventually they will separate.
Yet the two couples remained together, enduring the embarrassment and the shame, and enduring it together.
But God blessed them with sons who would become famous men in bible history.
Which makes us call to mind the times when we experienced misfortune and embarrassment and even shame.
Did we still believed that God did not abandon us, and did we still remained faithful to Him?
When we have survived those moments, then we will know this for sure:
When we abandon ourselves to God, God will not abandon us.