Clif

2. Why do you think Jesus "rubbed it in" with two stories of God blessing Gentiles while Jews were still in need? Is he egging on the residents of Nazareth? I believe Jesus is providing a lesson: One should not become His follower if the purpose is to have worldly miracles. Try to achieve a spiritual sense without any apparent "payback", and the occasional worldly miracle may come.

We may be afraid of "fire-of-judgment" kind of language, but what should our response be to warnings of terrible judgment? I think we tend to over-emphasize the "warning" aspect of this statement. My own feeling is that this is simply a statement of how life works: that is, the good and spiritual life is everlasting, while the non-spiritual life is temporal (and burned away like chaff). We should not be good because of the fear of punishment. Instead, we should realize that goodness has an everlasting spiritual permanence which we won't find elsewhere.

Why is Mary frightened? Is her fear reflective of unbelief? Anyone who becomes a parent knows that it is an awesome responsibility. Raising a child (whether he or she be gifted or have special needs) is a full time undertaking, spread over many years. We do our best, making a series of decisions and taking actions of which we are unsure, praying and trusting that what we do is right. How much more difficult it must have been for Mary, a teenager who is entrusted to raise a child with a Divine Destiny. It is not so much the physical nature of the event (her body being used for a special birth). More than that, she will have a role in raising a child to become a spiritually centered being. This would frighten anybody, including Mary, but it is her faith that allows her to accept her new role without question. Perhaps Mary should be considered a virgin in a spiritual sense, never having been corrupted by the world. She speaks directly with an angel, with no intermediary, and responds with an immediate affirmation of her role as God’s servant. What a wonderful example.

I do not think that Zechariah is being "punished". Instead, I feel this is a description of how attitudes can effect one's performance in life. Because Zechariah has an attitude of unbelief, he is unable to express God's spiritual message to others. It does not mean that his lips are "literally" sealed. I believe Gabriel is saying that you cannot communicate wonderous thoughts to others until you believe them yourself. Another part of this reading that caught my attention was the word "joy". In other chapters of the Bible, John always seems so serious and even tragic. It is worth noting that he must have provided joy to his parents and others, although this part of his personality can easily be overlooked.