Today's Gospel reading is Luke's story of the angel Gabriel telling Zechariah that his barren wife will become pregnant and bear John the Baptist. (Lk 1:5-25) (No relation to Jeff the Baptist, I believe.)
Whenever I read this story, I can't help but compare it with the story of the Annunciation, where Gabriel tells Mary she will become pregnant with the Son of God. (Lk 1:26-38) In both cases, a miraculous birth is foretold and the hearer of the message expresses surprise that such a thing could happen. In one case, the questioner is struck dumb until such time as the angel's wishes regarding the child's name are followed. The other questioner, however, has her question answered.
Why the difference?
Zechariah's response is somewhat natural as his wife was barren and old, beyond the age of fertility. Of course he wonders how such a thing could be possible. Mary, on the other hand, is young, fertile and about to get married. We know she knows how babies are made since she asks about having no relations with a man.
We can assume Zechariah and Elizabeth were having "adult relations," as they call it on 7th Heaven. I doubt many married couples abstain from sex simply because they can't have children. So they were engaged in "the baby-making thing," as a book I once read referred to it.
Mary, being about to get married shouldn't have been shocked at the notion of becoming pregnant. The Angel didn't specify a timetable for her pregnancy, it could have been at any time in the future. So why her surprise?
The answer can be found in the tradition in the Church (especially in the Eastern churches) that Mary had consecrated her virginity to God and that Joseph was a much older man, who would not object to taking care of a wife who had taken a vow of virginity. This also can provide an explanation of where Jesus' brothers came from, if Mary truly was ever virgin: They were Joseph's children from a prior marriage.
This can explain what Zechariah was punished for questioning how his wife's pregnancy could occur, while Mary wasn't for questioning hers: Zechariah was doing the activity that makes babies, while Mary wasn't and wouldn't be.
Crossposted at Gazizza.net
