Among Catholics today, interest in learning about the lives of the Saints has grown significantly. However, those who investigate the biography of the members of the nascent Catholic Church – not those of the first centuries, but of the first years and decades, those who lived with Jesus – are faced with a certain disappointment.
The Evangelists were so succinct in telling us about their lives! They give brief and simple accounts of characters who arouse the curiosity of every Christian who studies them over time. Who were the Apostles or the disciples? That group of women who followed Jesus, what virtues did they have? Those who were the object of miracles – the blind, the paralyzed and those resurrected – what happened after their cure? Few words, short lines and sparse biographical traces; that is all that posterity has inherited.
Among the characters described in the Gospels solely by St. Luke is Zechariah, member of the tribe of Levi and father of St. John the Baptist
However, among the Evangelists, the physician St. Luke stands out. This sacred writer, who at the beginning of his narrative announces that he has “followed all things closely for some time past” (Lk 1:3), presents some of the protagonists of the Gospel with a wealth of biographical information. And he is nothing other than the plume of the Holy Spirit!
Called the Evangelist of Jesus’ infancy, he presents facts and people that do not appear in the other narratives in the New Testament, which leads us to believe that his investigation of “all things closely” led him to the eyewitnesses, to the people still alive who had seen the first steps of the Redeemer, or even to the protagonists of the sublime episodes recounted.
Among the characters described solely by St. Luke is Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist; and among the exclusive events are the Angel’s announcement and the miraculous birth of the Precursor.1
Zechariah, the Levite
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah” (Lk 1:5). As an excellent narrator, the cultured St. Luke indicates the historical moment of the circumstance: it was during Herod’s reign. That is Herod I, called the Great, who reigned over the whole of Palestine from 37 BC to 4 AD.
The name Zechariah, derived from Zecri, Aaron’s cousin, was common among the descendants of Levi (cf. Ex 6:21 and Neh 12:16) and means God remembered.
The Levites were the tribe of Israel who specialized in worship and Temple service. In King David’s time (cf. 1 Chr 23:1-5), a census indicates their number and how they were organized: twenty-four thousand were directly dedicated to the sacrifices; six thousand were scribes or judges; four thousand were doorkeepers; and another four thousand were musicians. The prophet-king divided them into twenty-four groups or classes, which alternated in their sacred functions. The eighth class was that of Abijah.
After the Babylonian exile and the rebuilding of the Temple, worship had been reorganized and the service of the priestly classes re-established. When each goup’s turn came, they had to gather in Jerusalem to carry out their duties. This is why Zechariah, a resident of the mountain village of Ain Karim, seven kilometres west of the Holy City, had to travel there for the sacrifice.
The praise of Scripture
Zechariah had married Elizabeth, whose name means God has sworn. She too was a descendant of Aaron. About them, the Evangelist comments that “they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Lk 1:6).
Zechariah had married Elizabeth who was also a descendant of Aaron. Both were righteous before God and observed the ordinances of the Lord
Scripture, always sparing in its description of characters, did not mince words in praising the priest’s behaviour. In the Old Testament, holy souls were called righteous, an adjective given to various biblical figures. In Zechariah’s case, this dignity was added to the fact that he observed all “the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” What an accolade! Zechariah was an upright, integral and faithful man.
In addition to praising the Levite’s dignity, there was a note of sadness: he had no children. Contrary to modern standards, which condemn numerous offspring, in the Old Testament children were a sign of God’s blessing, while sterility was considered a curse, even though examples of infertile mothers with miraculous children abound in the sacred pages: Sarah, despite being infertile, conceived Isaac (cf. Gn 11:30); Hannah in similar circumstances gave birth to the prophet Samuel (cf. 1 Sm 1:2-6); and Samson was also born through a prodigy (cf. Jgs 13:2). Zechariah’s faithfulness was thus all the more praiseworthy because he remained irreproachable in adversity.
From the Gospel we can infer some more traits of the saintly character. As a faithful Jew, as is clear from St. Luke’s words, his conduct as a priest must have been exemplary. He performed the sacrificial rites, the form of prayer and worship in force among the Israelites, with piety and fervour. At a time of moral and religious decadence among the chosen people, this priest’s love for the Scriptures certainly contrasted with the coldness and indifference of the Levites of the time.
This is the moral and psychological profile of Zechariah, whose life would soon be united to the most momentous event of history.
Zechariah’s test
It was Zechariah’s function to offer the incense in the Lord’s sanctuary that day. It was a solemn moment in the service, and all the people were waiting outside, because this act was followed by the blessing. There, in the most sacred place in the Jewish religion, amidst the perfumed cloud that filled the whole place, the Angel Gabriel appeared, bearing good news: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard” (Lk 1:13a).
What prayer is the heavenly messenger referring to? Surely Zechariah had asked God to put an end to the humiliation of barrenness and to give him offspring. But the holy priest’s prayers were not only about his own interests. He must have asked for the coming of the Messiah, because the time of the prophecies had come; he must have prayed to God to prepare the chosen people to receive the Promised One; he must have implored the Most High to cure the state of manifest lukewarmness among Israel’s priestly class, so criticized by the prophets.
“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Lk 1:13b), the Angel continues, revealing that this child “will be great before the Lord,” possessing “the spirit and power of Elijah” to fulfil a mission: “to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Lk 1:15-17).
At the Angel’s annunciation, Zechariah felt his smallness before the magnitude of the divine promise. He listened, hesitated and doubted…
The message was too monumental for that old man’s heart. The righteous Zechariah felt the disproportion between his smallness and the magnitude of the divine promise. He listened, hesitated and doubted. His attitude is not surprising, for there is no more intense battle for man than that of faith. The priest who had overcome all of life’s struggles, becoming irreproachable, wavered for a moment.
By some mysterious design, God allowed this weakness in Zechariah, similar to that of Moses’ double blow on the rock (cf. Nm 20:11), which denied him entry into the Promised Land. Perhaps Providence took advantage of this moment of weakness to teach future generations how hard the tests of faith are, which shake the hearts of even the most elect men. What is more, this defection would provide an opportunity for the mediation of Mary Most Holy to manifest itself for the first time in history.
Nevertheless, the Angel Gabriel announces that Zechariah will be mute because he did not believe.2
In the company of Mary Most Holy
When Elizabeth had conceived, her cousin came to visit her in the final stages of her pregnancy. The moment of her arrival became a symphony of exclamations and sublime canticles. Elizabeth, overwhelmed by grace, burst into praise for Mary: “Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Blessed is She who believed!” (Lk 1:42, 45); John the Baptist rejoiced in his mother’s womb, for he heard the blessed voice of the Mother of God; the Blessed Virgin sings the Magnificat.
Zechariah, however, had no part in these harmonies. Deprived of his hearing, he heard nothing; mute, he exclaimed nothing and sang nothing.
However, the old man was able to enjoy Mary’s company for a few months, during which he learned real lessons of faith from that young woman so full of blessing, not through words, but by example.
He certainly marvelled at the fact that Mary, chosen for the highest mission in history – to be the Mother of God! – offered to help her cousin with household chores, such as preparing a meal, washing clothes or cleaning a room. What precious teachings were observed and treasured by Zechariah, perhaps the only witness to these acts of virtue by Our Lady! This Marian retreat prepared his heart for the moment of his son’s birth.
And while Zechariah analysed the blessed woman, Mary also observed him. How many times did she pray for the silent old man?
“His name is John”
“Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son” (Lk 1:57). And on the day of the circumcision, there was a discussion among the family: what name to give the child?
Asked by means of signs, Zechariah, now full of faith and obedient to the Angel Gabriel, wrote before everyone’s astonished: “His name is John” (Lk 1:63). Then and there, the priest recuperated his speech. At that moment, however, any words would be banal; Zechariah opened his lips to sing!
Filled with the Holy Spirit, he intoned the canticle that the Church recalls daily in the Lauds of the Liturgy of the Hours: the Benedictus. His words, halted for so many months by the hand of the Angel, will be repeated until the end of time by the voice of the Church: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people” (Lk 1:68). Zechariah sings a hymn of faith!
A heart healed by the presence of Mary
The Evangelist’s pen is silent concerning the rest of St. Zechariah’s life. It is commonly held that, already advanced in age, he and his wife Elizabeth did not remain on this earth much longer, but soon went to join their forefathers, while their privileged son began to be mysteriously prepared for his mission.
The company of Mary Most Holy restored the heart of Zechariah, wounded by doubt; upon recovering his speech he sang a hymn of faith!
However, although St. Luke’s attention turns to the mission of John the Baptist and the life of the Messiah, the brief events recounted in the first chapter of his Gospel are enough to convey a precious lesson about the lives of the saints.
Those who think that the journey of virtuous souls on earth is like a pleasant stroll, exempt from struggles, trials and pain, are greatly mistaken. On the contrary, the saints fight and suffer, and for this very reason that they are worthy of praise.
Finally, the biography of this venerable Levite also makes us realize that the presence of and contact with Mary Most Holy can restore everything, including a heart wounded by doubt and mistrust of God. ◊
Notes
1 In addition to the Gospel of St. Luke, the following works have been used in this article for historical and exegetical information: Cf. TUYA, OP, Manuel de. Biblia Comentada. Evangelios. Madrid: BAC, 1964, v.V, p.749-759; IGLESIAS, Salvador Muñoz. Los Evangelios de la infancia. Madrid: BAC, 1986, v.II, p.96-97.
2 The Greek word that appears in St. Luke’s Gospel – kophós – can mean mute or deaf, or both at the same time. What we can infer from the reading is that Zechariah became deaf and dumb, even though the Evangelist does not explicitly state this.
