Luke 1:67-79

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

Luke 1:67-79

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

    “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

        for he has come to his people and set them free.

    He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,

        born of the house of his servant David.

    Through his prophets he promised of old

        that he would save us from our enemies,

        from the hands of all who hate us.

    He promised to show mercy to our fathers

        and to remember his holy covenant.

    This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

        to set us free from the hand of our enemies,

        free to worship him without fear,

        holy and righteous in his sight

            all the days of our life.

    You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,

        for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

        to give his people knowledge of salvation

        by the forgiveness of their sins.

    In the tender compassion of our God

        the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

        to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

        and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, send your Son and Spirit and do not delay so that those who trust in your compassion may find solace and relief from their coming.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Visitation and Redemption: When John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, was released from his silence, the first thing he did was praise God with inspired thanksgiving. Zechariah thanked God for acting to fulfill the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. Zechariah first spoke of God visiting his people and setting them free by redeeming or releasing them. Visiting and redeeming are covenantal terms. When God is said to visit his people, it is an image of God looking mercifully upon his suffering people and freeing them from their afflictions. When your covenant partner is in trouble – sold into slavery due to inability to pay back a debt, for example – you “visit” him and “redeem” him by paying off his debt. All humanity, due to the debt of sin incurred by our first parents, awaited this redemption. Just as the Lord redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the prophets foretold of an act of redemption in the future: one day, God would redeem his people from their current enemies in a new Exodus just as he freed their ancestors from Pharaoh in the first Exodus (see Sri, Dawn of the Messiah, 61).

2. Horn of Salvation: Zechariah then sings that God has raised up for us a mighty Savior from the royal House of David. The literal phrase is “horn of salvation.” This phrase recalls the song David sang when he was delivered from his enemies: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, … my shield and the horn of my salvation (2 Samuel 22:2-3). The horn is a symbol of God’s power. “Zechariah’s words echo the royal hymn of Psalm 132, which celebrated God’s covenant with King David and his descendants. There the Lord said, ‘I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed’ (Psalm 132:17)” (Sri, Dawn of the Messiah, 62). The new anointed king, the new son of David, is the Messiah who will restore the Kingdom of David.

3. True Freedom: The salvation that the Messiah brought was not political liberation or military salvation. The true enemy in Zechariah’s day was not Rome. What the people needed the most was salvation from their sins. Zechariah’s son will be the last prophet of Israel and will prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. He will bring the people into the wilderness and to the Jordan River and prepare them for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus, the promised Messiah, will free us from our sins and bring us into a right relationship with our Father. Through Jesus and in the Church, we will enjoy the freedom of the children of God. Just as the Israelites were freed from Egypt to be able to worship the Lord, we are freed from sin to worship God in spirit and truth.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, Radiant Dawn, Splendor of Eternal Light, and Sun of Justice, come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Living the Word of God: Is there anyone in my life, a family member or acquaintance, that needs me to act as a redeemer? Are they materially or spiritually in debt? How can I help through material generosity or spiritual counsel?