Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 / Luke 1:5-25
To be learned and knowledgeable is truly an asset in life.
Also learning is a life-long process and we also gain knowledge through learning, and we are also able to understand things better.
But being learned and having knowledge about things may not necessarily lead a person to understand the ways of God.
In the readings, two persons were presented with a message from God through the ministry of angels.
The woman in the 1st reading, only known as Manoah’s wife, accepted the angel’s message without questioning and eventually saw the truth of the message when she gave birth to a son.
In the gospel, a similar message was presented by the Archangel Gabriel to the priest Zacheriah, but somehow he questioned the message and for that he lost his ability to speak until the appointed time.
As much as Zechariah, being a priest, should be able to understand and accept the message more readily, he let his human reasoning become the obstacle to the ways of God.
On the other hand, Manoah’s wife, a simple woman, let her faith become her reward as she believed in what the angel told her.
As much as we need to balance faith with reason, yet it is prayer that will help us to discern the ways of God.
Let us be silent, and listen, and God’s ways will be revealed to us.