Friday 19 December 2025
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25. Fill me with your praise and I will sing your glory – Ps 70(71):3-6, 16-17. Luke 1:5-25.
How has God surprised you?
You can’t blame Zechariah. Both he and his wife Elizabeth are old and, despite their rich spiritual life, they have become sour. They really wanted children, but they haven’t arrived. Scripture uses the word ‘barren’ to describe Elizabeth, which is harsh. In those days people didn’t understand that Zechariah may have been infertile. Elizabeth speaks of her ‘humiliation’, which again sounds like a judgment. I hope that we are more compassionate and understanding these days. Nevertheless, you can’t criticise Zechariah for feeling uncertain. ‘How can I be sure of this?’ he asks. We hear a similar story in the reading. It troubles us that Samson’s mother is never named. She too is judged as ‘barren’. God has a surprise in store.
As we look back over another calendar year, there are sure to be ways in which God has surprised us. Let’s bask in their memory for a while as our faith reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways.
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