Zechariah's Song

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

 

Click here to access the reading from Luke 1:67-80

 

REFLECTION

 

Is There a Song in Your Heart?

By Judy Webb

And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel. (verse 80)

One of the things about Christmas that many of us love, is the Christmas Carrols, the songs telling the story of Jesus. They can be heard even before Thanksgiving. We enjoy singing the verses that tell of Jesus’ birth and put a melody of Hope in our hearts.

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

Many of us sang lullabies to our children when they were merely infants. Even though we didn’t belt them out, for they were meant to lull the baby to sleep. These songs were sung with a heart full of love and amazement. Perhaps our minds were filled with dreams of what our child would grow up to be or do, who they would take after, and how proud we as parents would be, just because they were ours.

That is the feeling I take away from the verses today. Zechariah’s song is chocked full of love, anticipation, and pride. This song is a prayer about the long-awaited child, the son who was prophesied to become the man who would prepare for the Savior, Jesus the Way.

Zechariah is singing a song about who his son will become, and what he will accomplish. He encompasses the hopes of a father who knows how great a man his son will one day become. This fills him with visions of a wonderful tomorrow.

⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

Ponderings - The air is filling with music, with familiar songs we love to share. Mary sang for joy after the angel spoke to her. Zechariah sang of the bright and holy future his son would be part of. Then angelic voices filled the night following Jesus’ birth. Clearly, something was brewing on planet earth over 2000 years ago. Most certainly there is something brewing today as well. Let’s lift our voices and sing about it together.

UALC CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - WEDNESDAY

JUSTICE - Stir up the power of your Holy Spirit to create reconciliation and justice where we cannot. We are enmeshed in the sin and hurt and futility of a fallen world. But you, O God, have raised Jesus from the dead and poured out the Spirit of your new creation. Reconcile us to one another across the divides we alone cannot cross, in the justice and wholeness only you can create.