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[13] The angel said, 
"Don't be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you must name him John."
...
[18] Zechariah said to the angel, 
"How can I be sure of this? 
My wife and I are very old."
Luke 1:13, 18 CEB
I don't know what the angel Gabriel looked like, but his presence was enough to frighten Zechariah.
But here Gabriel is, in the temple, in the middle of the incense burning, connection with God moment.
And then Gabriel gives Zechariah some specific information- his prayers have been heard.
The content of those prayers are known.
The prayers (given that they're old my guess is that Zechariah & Elizabeth long ago gave up praying for children of their own) are now going to be answered.
Zechariah meets this supernatural creature/person who tells him his specific, very personal prayers from long ago are now being answered...and the first thing he says is:
"Really?"
It must be part of being human. We might never meet an angel or have some of our long forgotten prayers answered, but when the Spirit prompts, when words of scripture jump off the page for us, when it seems like the person up front in church is speaking directlty to us, when a word of encouragement appears randomly, when a song, a phrase, a smile, a kind act, a moment of connection remind us that we are Beloved, let's not respond with "really?"
#advent
#Christmas 
#redemptivestrands
#GodsLoveisEnough
#weareBeloved 

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