9th Day of Simbang Gabi 2019

There is a story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields.

One day, the horse escaped into the hills. When the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills. This time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

Then when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad luck. The farmer’s reaction: “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off. Was that Good luck or Bad luck? Who knows!

My dear friends, bad things do happen to good people and at times we cannot understand why it should happen to us. Even those who achieved the highest educational attainment in this world cannot provide us the answer. If ever we get an answer, it will all be attributed to something that goes beyond the physical realm like –it is written in the stars, it is destiny or fate, or it is the will of the gods. But when people do not believe in the supernatural, they just say –who knows if it is bad luck or good luck?

Zechariah, the main actor in our Gospel (Luke 1: 67-79), was not alien to bad experiences, to failure, pain and frustration. He submerged himself in the negative weight of luck not knowing that what he considered bad luck would later turn into a blessing in disguise. He was old and had no children with his wife Elizabeth. It was big deal in those days to have children. In their culture, the family line ended when couples were found childless. They too considered that it was a blessing to have many children while it was a shameful thing to have no child at all. So Zechariah felt he was doomed as he would die childless. But it turned out that everything was a blessing in disguise. In his old age, God gave him a son to be named John. He was given a son who was not just an ordinary person but a precursor of Jesus. His only son John would play a vital role in preparing the way of the Lord. Thus, in our Gospel, we could feel how happy Zechariah was for having a son destined to greatness. Even Jesus Himself said something good about John, “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Luke 7:28).

My dear friends, our Gospel reminds us to stay calm and refuse to become devastated when things seem to fall apart or when everything seems to bring us bad luck. We have to trust God and believe He knows what is best for us. We have handled crises before and there has always been this assurance that there is no such thing as bad luck because in God, everything is a blessing in disguise. Amen.