A University of Winchester academic will be presenting an edition of BBC Radio 4 Extra’s Daily Service during Advent.
Dr Marika Rose, Senior Lecturer in Philosophical Theology, presents the programme on 10 December which takes “Zechariah’s Song” from St Luke’s Gospel as its theme.
Before the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he visited Zechariah and told him his barren wife Elizabeth would bear a child. Because of his disbelief Zechariah was struck dumb only to regain his voice and burst into song when it came to the naming of the child – John who would become John the Baptist.
Marika said: “It’s tempting to hear Zechariah’s prophecy as though we can sit back and wait for someone else, for a Messiah, to do the hard work of saving the world for us. But the birth of Christ into the world means that we too are to be born, weak and vulnerable, as the people of God. We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
She is one of a roster of regular Daily Service presenters and appears every four months or so.
“Pre-pandemic we used to broadcast live, but now it’s all written and recorded in advance, so my script has been approved and my recorded parts sent off for editing already,” explained Marika.
The Daily Service, which attracts around 250,000 listeners is broadcast at 9.45am and can also be heard on BBC Sounds and its homepage.
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