Mute

I was trying to get my students to think of the antithesis of sound yesterday and they could not come up with it.

In Luke 1, the first person we meet is Zechariah, a priest. He is visited by an angel, who gives him astounding news, to which Zechariah, a righteous man, understandably expressed incredulity. The sign he was given to prove this word would come to pass was his own muteness. He did not take a vow of silence. Silence was thrust upon him until his son was born. By this he came to believe that the word had come from God. A gestation of silence.

I wonder how much talking would be left in our world if all who are dubious about the veracity of the Word of God were struck mute until every word was fulfilled. It seems profound to me that the pathway to belief for Zechariah required him to stop talking.