Sunday
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
(Luke 1:68-79, NIV)
At the end of his first chapter, Luke records the story of the birth of John the Baptist. After recalling how an angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, and tells him about the birth of John by his wife Elizabeth, Luke describes how Zechariah expresses disbelief. Because of this, Zechariah is struck dumb. When Zechariah’s speech is restored following the birth and naming of John at his circumcision, he immediately begins praising God for what had occurred.
Today’s verses record a prophecy given by Zechariah, which reads like a hymn and in fact was sung by Christians for centuries. The focus of Zechariah’s prophecy is on the role of his son, who serves as a prophet and prepares the way for the Messiah. Note again that the gospel message is described in a summary statement as the “path of peace” (v. 79). This is the same message that the angels will announce to the shepherds as we will see in two days. The initial words of announcement concerning Jesus’ birth are consistent: the long-awaited Prince of Peace has arrived!
Prayer
Lord God, we praise you for being faithful to your promises. We rejoice in the faithfulness of Zechariah and Elizabeth and in the preparatory work of their son, John the Baptist. We hail the Messiah who will “guide our feet into the path of peace (shalom).” Amen.