12/5- Gabriel

18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (Luk 1:18-20)

26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  (Luke 1:26-28)

15While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. 16And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”

17As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”^b he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” (Daniel 8:15,16)

Thoughts: Gabriel is an intriguing figure.  In the Intertestamental apocryphal book Enoch, Gabriel is called one of three archangels.  In Islam Gabriel helped deliver the Koran to Mohammed.  But in the Bible Gabriel told Daniel a bit about the prophesy of the future.  He told Zechariah about John the Baptist's birth.  He told Mary that Jesus would be born.
     Gabriel also tells a bit about himself here.  He "stands in the presence of God" and is sent from His presence to speak of the future.  The word "angel" means messenger.  God wanted to deliver the great news through a great creature.  The Good News started with the announcements of John the Baptist and Jesus births.  Christmas begins, was and is a message.  The message comes from the messenger from God.  Peace doesn't just "begin with me" it begins with God- and His message.  Hope is not something self-generated but it is a message that comes from outside of this world.  It is not just a natural message, but a special message from a supernatural- unusual- all powerful being.  The movement of God awakens as we listen and respond to the message of hope and salvation.  

Prayer: Lord, let me believe your message and pass it on.   You do not leave us alone- but break the silence with a message of hope and salvation.  Thank you.