Overview:

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

A Reflection for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
for 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 1:67-69)

Find today’s readings here.

In the new movie “Train Dreams,” based on the novel by Denis Johnson, Robert Grainier, a logger who has spent much of his life living alone in a remote cabin in Idaho, receives this bit of wisdom from a new friend: “The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.” 

Those words have stuck with me since I saw the film last month, and they came to me again while considering Zechariah, the focus of this morning’s Gospel. Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist, was not a preacher per se. But in today’s reading, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he gives what may be the greatest sermon of all time. Christians around the world pray the “Canticle of Zechariah” every day as part of the Liturgy of the Hours. It is stunning bit of prose, and the final four lines are, to my mind, among the most beautiful in the Bible: 

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.

But before Zechariah was a preacher, he was a hermit.

Recall that Zechariah was skeptical of the angel Gabriel’s promise that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a son at her advanced age. Because he did not trust in God, he was struck dumb, and for nine months, he was set apart from the world, forced to encounter it with silence. Only when John was born was his voice restored.

Zechariah was a prophet, just like his son. But like John too, he spent some time in the (metaphorical) desert.

The church has given us many wonderful preachers and prophets. It has also been home to countless monks and hermits. What today’s Gospel reminds us is that we, like Zechariah, are called to be both preachers and hermits, to give silent witness to the faith and to proclaim it from the rooftops.

This is especially true during the Advent and Christmas season. Advent is a time for quiet prayer and preparation. Zechariah’s nine months of quiet may have been forced upon him, but it gave him a measure of hard-won wisdom. When the time came for him to speak and to proclaim his love for God, he was ready. 

After four weeks of Advent, are we ready to give voice to the Holy Spirit? Will we proclaim the Good News? Our waiting is finally over. Now is the time for preachers. 

Tim Reidy joined America’s staff in October 2006 and served as online editor for several years before moving into his current role as the deputy editor in chief. Tim oversees America’s newsroom, directing its daily news coverage as well as working with the editorial leadership team to plan each print issue. Tim also edits the magazine’s Ideas section, where he contributes book reviews and essays. Before joining America, he worked at the Hartford Courant, a newspaper in Connecticut, and Commonweal magazine. In addition to writing for America, he has contributed to The New York Times, the Columbia Journalism Review and the Princeton Alumni Weekly. He has been interviewed about the Catholic Church on WNYC in New York, ABC, Bloomberg TV and other media outlets. Tim also serves on the board of directors of Jesuit Refugee Service USA. He lives in Bronxville, N.Y., with his wife and two children.