September 6--St. Zechariah, Prophet

 

Zacharias by Michelangelo.

We don’t usually think of Old Testament prophets as saints, but they are! They proclaimed the Word of God. Zechariah is the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Minor does not mean lesser; their writings are shorter than the four major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Zechariah lived and prophesied at the time of the return to Israel after the Babylonian Captivity in the late 6th century BC: “Say to them: Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return to me—oracle of the LORD* of hosts—and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts” (Zec.1:3). He was concerned with the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem: “Therefore, thus says the LORD: I return to Jerusalem in mercy; my house will be rebuilt there—oracle of the LORD of hosts—and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem” (Zec. 1:16). He relates a series of visions, in much the same way as the Book of Daniel. In Chapter 14 he also prophesies about the “Day of the Lord,” which “focuses on the restoration of Jerusalem and the return of the people of Zion so that the rest of the world will acknowledge God’s sovereignty.” We don’t know a lot about Zechariah’s life except his parentage and time of prophecy. The name Zechariah means “God remembers.”

Each of us are commissioned as priests, prophets, and servant-kings at our baptism. To be a priest means to be one in worship of God; a servant-king serves the people he rules; and a prophet is a person who evangelizes–bringing the Good News of God’s Kingdom to the world. Zechariah was a prophet and we also share in that great ministry when we evangelize about the love of God in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. St. Zechariah, pray for us.