Advent is a time of reflection, patiently waiting, hope, and promise. There are only a few people in the Advent story: Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah are prominent. Later the Angels announce Jesus’ birth to the Shepherds in Bethlehem, and even later, the Magi follow the star to Jesus. God uses a few people and most people – at that time – would have thought all of these to be rather insignificant, even anonymous.
It's a strange thing to “wait” in Advent. I love the time of quiet reflection, of praying, of worshipping with the sacraments of communion, the scriptures, the songs of praise to God. I don’t need a lot of other things, though there are some decorations in the house. Quietness is a treasured love. Thus, I lead us back to Zechariah, and the final part he plays in the Advent story. Yesterday we read of his silence ending. He named his Son John, and he was released from the Angel Gabriel’s discipline of being mute. Imagine it, silent for over nine months.
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| Benedictus |
Luke 1:64, 67-80
“Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to
speak, praising God...
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.
This poetry is called a “Canticle”, and it is one of
three in the opening of Luke’s first two chapters. The first was Mary’s Magnificat, this one
spoken by Zechariah we have before us today is the second, and the last is
spoken at the end of the second chapter when Mary and Joseph take their eight-day-old
Son for Circumcision (and naming), and as they enter the Temple, and aged
Priest named Simeon (my Grandson’s name) sees them carrying Jesus and through
the Holy Spirit realizes that this baby is the promised Messiah of God and
sings his song of praise to God and blessing of the Holy family. Canticles are songs of praise and blessing and
arise from within as the Holy Spirit moves a person to hear and see what God is
and has done. Zechariah, his tongue
loosened, sings this Canticle poem.
He is at his home, his newborn son, John, with Elizabeth,
some family and friends. He had been silent for a long time, but now he must
speak – it gushes out in Spirit-filled praise.
The Canticle is entitled “Benedictus”, Latin for "Benedictus
Dominus Deus Israel", translated as “Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel”. It is divided into two
parts and the first part follows the opening as it speaks in thanksgiving to
God, the Lord God of Israel. It is
thanksgiving for the fulfillment of the promised Messiah – even though his son,
John, is not the Messiah, he realizes that John is the forerunner. After Mary visited Elizabeth, John in his
silence put it all together. The Angel
Gabriel had told him John was come to pave the way for the Messiah – fulfilling
the Old Testament prophets who said one would come to announce the Messiah.
"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 (vss 68-74).
Zechariah isn’t just speaking of deliverance from the Romans,
because he borrows from Old Testament sources to speak of how God would establish
Israel in holiness and righteousness.
John was to be a Prophet in the spirit and power that the last book of
the Old Testament, Malachi spoke of:
Malachi 4:5-6
Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and
terrible day of the LORD comes.
He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of
children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a
curse.
Zechariah sees the Big Picture!
After the first part, he turns his attention to his new-born
son. He understands why God has given him
and Elizabeth a miracle son:
Luke 1:76-79
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."
It is beautiful as it reminds us that John would pave the
way by speaking of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and of the tender mercy
of God – all like a dawn that breaks to give light for a new day. What is happening? Zechariah sees a new day approaching – a day
that would not happen (in all probability) in his or Elizabeth’s lifetime. How do we know if they were still alive when
John began? The canticle ends, and one
verse is added… “The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he
was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel” (Luke 1:80). Thirty years would pass as they raised their
son as God prepared him to go to the wilderness and begin his ministry for
Jesus.
The Benedictus is an oft-repeated part of the Divine
hours liturgy that I pray. I love its tone and the way the praise leads to
renewal, even revelation. We, the people
of God sit in darkness too often and should pray that light must come – “God,
come and scatter my darkness and bring forth your light.”
The light of God always leads to God’s peace. It is something we are reminded often as we
worship, “the peace of the Lord be upon you”. It is a fruit of God’s spirit at work in our
souls and we learn how to “love, have joy, live in peace…” (Galatians
5). It is ironic that the Greek word translated
for “peace” is eirēnē, pronounced I-ray-nay. Is peace something we produce? I think not. “Peace on earth, goodwill to
men (mankind) is an Angelic pronouncement to the shepherds at Jesus’ birth.
As I write this, war continues in Ukraine and the Middle East. It is ironic isn’t it that peace is often
missing when we need it desperately in our lives. We need peace in our world, but we also need
it in our households, in our marriages, in raising kids, in our churches, in
our country. Do you see why we should
echo Zechariah’s prayer? Lord, give
light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our
feet into the way of peace.” While
we pray for all of those things above, let us pray it for our own souls, that
Christ’s peace may come to us and reside within us.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you
may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Peace
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