Zechariah is dumb. So, when asked what name he would give his son, he wrote on the tablet—John. His tongue was loosened and he burst into a “prophetic exhortation” about the greatness of God.
Called Canticle of Zechariah, or Benedictus, it is recited with reverence by the church every morning. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David” (Luke 1:68-79).
Holy and childless
Elizabeth, a cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was married to Zechariah, son of Berakiah, a Pharisee and a holy priest in the temple of Jerusalem. Both were born in Hebron on the first century and belong to a priestly family.
Saint Luke writes that although Elizabeth had committed no evil in the eyes of God, she was barren. The holy couple were sad, for in those days, not to have a child is considered as a punishment from God.
Dumb for disbelief
One day while Zechariah was ministering in the Altar of Incense, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him and divulged a joyful news: Elizabeth will bear him a son.
Overjoyed he was for God has removed his disgrace. Then doubt gripped him and he asked, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age?” (Luke 1:18).
The angel replied, “You will be speechless and unable to talk, until the day, these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time” (Luke 1:20).
It took a long time for Zechariah to emerge from the sanctuary, but the people waited. Unable to talk, he made gestures and the crowd knew he had a vision. Disbelief made him dumb and as soon as he reached home, Elizabeth conceived.
John leapt with joy
As revealed by the mystics, three days after the Annunciation, the Lord revealed to Mary in a vision that Elizabeth had conceived a child destined to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah.
Mary, obliged to visit her, told Joseph about it. He borrowed a donkey for the four days journey to the village of Ain-Karem in the Judean hills, 5 miles west of Jerusalem. At the sound of Mary’s voice, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb quickened joyfully. Lifting her hands, she exclaimed, “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” (Luke 1:42).
Canticle of Zechariah
Eight days after Elizabeth gave birth, John was to be circumcised in accordance to Jewish tradition. He was to be named Zechariah after his father according to the custom. But Elizabeth insisted that the child be named John. So Zechariah was asked and he wrote John and immediately regained his speech. Overwhelmed, he praised God.
His exhortation about God’s saving action and the liberation he offered was in three choral solemn odes. The first was salvation from enemies, the covenant of God with David. The second strophe was the covenant with Abraham when the people of God were rescued from their enemies. And the third was about John the Baptist who will announce a new covenant with Christ. Of this, Zechariah sang:
“You my child shall be called the prophet of the most high; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).
This prophetic exhortation about the greatness of God in sending John the Baptist as Forerunner to announce the coming of Christ, prepares man’s heart and mind as an apostle of evangelization, and sharing the gospel to others in a loving and peaceful manner is Canticle of Zechariah, in the Liturgy of the Hours, prayed every morning by Christians.
Death of innocent children
When the Magi of the East asked Herod the way to see the newborn king, the king was tormented. Unable to subdue his madness, he ordered that all infants two years and below in Bethlehem and adjacent places be killed, hoping the Messiah would be among those killed.
Tradition reveals that King Herod asked Zechariah where Saint Elizabeth and John could be found. When he refused to answer, Herod stabbed him (Mt. 23:35).
Elizabeth hid herself with John in the hills. When she saw the pursuers she implored for safety from God. Immediately the hills opened and swallowed mother and John to conceal them from the pursuers. Elizabeth died 40 days after Zechariah.
Saint John the Baptist, preserved by the Lord, lived in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the Israelites.
Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.