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.

John's Birthday Song

Zechariah is no longer speechless and began vocalizing with Praise.  Luke 1:68 (NIV)  "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people."  Zechariah prophesied the coming of Christ the Savior and he further predicted that his own son would pave the way.  What a proud and humbling moment that must have been.

During the Christmas season, so many of us struggle to teach our children the real meaning of Christmas. We have difficulty ourselves, remembering why God sent His Son.  We get caught up in the impossibility of Jesus work and forget His is God and nothing is impossible for Him. I heard a teaching at a Celebrate Recovery meeting that put this in such a great perspective for me.

It was pointed out that the holidays are not so 'merry' for many people.  The sins of the world weigh heavily during these days meant for merriment.  Many of us dread Christmas and just want it over with.There are too many unpleasant memories from times past and we replay those tapes every year.  The dark recollections may be of our behavior or someone else's, but either way they put a damper on the season.

Jesus came to change all that. The redemption He brought changes everything for us.  It is the Christmas gift and is meant to give peace [of mind], and comfort and joy. We who were listening to the recovery teaching were reminded Jesus didn't come to heal the healthy, but to bring wholeness to the sick. (Matthew 9:12-13) 

It was made clear that Christmas is for sinners, for the brokenhearted, for the sad and lonely; it is for you and for me. The point driven home was that Immanuel means God with us, and that he is with. No wonder Zechariah was prophesying with the words, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people."  He was aware of the difference this would make to us, as he was the proud father of the one who would prepare the people for this Christmas message.

Luke 1:67-80

Luke 1:67-80 -- Zechariah's song

There is a devotional called “Streams in the Desert” which I read from most days.  I have been using this book since sometime in 2007.  There are numerous notes in the margins and references to my daily journal where I recorded some of my prayers and praises on a given day.  I mention this because as I was reading our selected text for this day it was verse 80 which had my attention.

Luke 1:80 (NIV) 
^“And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

I wanted to know about this child who lived in the desert.  I am assuming he didn’t live there alone; then I thought about the land of Jesus’ birth and realized it is desert. So the significance to the words lived in the desert, must have more meaning to it.  Life in the desert prepared John for the tremendous job ahead of him.  By not being exposed to ‘city living’, God had his attention.  This lifestyle may also have prepared him for the physical aspect of his future – blazing the trail for his cousin Jesus.

For a year following my husband’s death, I left the home I had lived in for over 40 years and moved to a place in the north-woods.  During that year I experienced a quiet and a stillness which allowed God to speak to me and prepare me for the next leg of my journey.  While I am not comparing myself to John the Baptist, I know firsthand how much closer to God one can get when not encumbered by all the noise in the world.

There is value in being able to find a desert spot in which to withdraw, if not live, for a season.  When was the last time you experienced and spiritual and physical retreat?  Is it time for consider planning for your next stage in life; why not find a desert spot somewhere, if only for a day, and retreat with God.  You will grow in many ways and return rested, ready and refreshed for tomorrow.


Read Luke 1:67-80 here

Listen to Luke 1:67-80 here