Luke 1:67-80
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. [NRSV]
Devotion
Luke’s gospel begins with stories of two women receiving news of unlikely and unexpected pregnancies. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, is described as “barren” and “getting on in years,” while Mary, the mother of Jesus, asks, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Zechariah, John’s father, responds with such doubt that he is made mute “until the day these things occur.” Zechariah ends up with nine months to formulate the speech or “canticle” we find in this passage of Scripture. When he is finally able to speak, language of covenant and promises kept pour forth, as well as words such as Salvation, Rescue, Redeem, Deliver, Forgiveness, Peace, and Mercy. Over months of silence, Zechariah seems to have reflected on God’s promises and actions in the history of Israel, as well as what God might be up to in the present and in the near future. The light of God’s tender mercy, Zechariah declares, has and will continue to break forth like the dawn for those who sit in darkness, so that our feet might find the way of peace.
May we find periods of silence in this Advent season to reflect on God’s fulfilled promises, as well as to observe how God is currently in the process of showering mercy on us all, and may we serve God without fear throughout our days, as God’s light guides our feet into the way of peace.
May we find periods of silence in this Advent season to reflect on God’s fulfilled promises, as well as to observe how God is currently in the process of showering mercy on us all, and may we serve God without fear throughout our days, as God’s light guides our feet into the way of peace.