Well Shut My Mouth, Gabe!
It is good advice to be cautious when one is interacting with an angel. Take a page from the experience of Zechariah in Luke Chapter 1. Though according to verse 12 “Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him,” our man did not let this trepidation curb his tongue. The angelic apparition related fantastic news: Zech and his wife would finally have a son. The boy’s name was given and predictions that he would be great in the sight of God, filled with the Holy Spirit and on a mission from above.
It is possible that this is one of the instances in the life of this elderly priest when his mouth began working before the brain was completely engaged. There does seem to be more than a little incredulity in his response to the heavenly messenger:
“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” [verse 18]
Gabriel did not take too kindly to this retort, and re-retorted by striking Zechariah speechless until the prophesized birth was accomplished. Sounds like a typical example of us humans telling God (or in this case his envoy) something already known by the All-Knowing. Been there, done that.
Interestingly, in the very same chapter, our dear Blessed Mother Mary talked back to the same angel, but without consequences. To be sure, she had a decided advantage in that the archangel greeted her as one “full of grace.” Also, she was a very young girl with considerably less experience and worldly knowledge than John the B’s daddy. Her question had to do with the biological possibility of her giving birth, while Zech was expressing his opinion that he and his lady were too long in the tooth to be siring offspring. Did the names Abraham and Sarah mean anything to him? And doesn’t this chosen family line have a tradition of barren women bearing children, for example, Isaac’s wife Rebekah and Jacob’s wife Rachel?
Speaking of Sarah, she did chuckle upon hearing of her prophetic pregnancy, but the consequences for that moment of merriment fell upon her son who got to be named “the one who laughs [Isaac].”
Should we speculate that the angelic encounter with Zechariah brought about a change in the messaging modus operandi for males from that point on? For Joseph only got angelic visits in his dreams where he could not talk back.
For those of us lower on grace than Mary, I’d recommend doing little or no talking during angelic encounters. Better to close the trap than have it slammed shut for us. It might not be a bad idea if we are more thoughtful and deliberate in our responses to everyone as we stroll through life. We just never know when we are entertaining angels unawares.
