A Light in the Darkness

Advent 2 – December 8, 2924

Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 1:68-79
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6

Luke is the only Gospel that gives us any detail of John the Baptist’s early life, that he and Jesus were related, and that John’s father was a priest. Of the four gospels Luke gives us the most information about what happened before Jesus’ baptism by John. Mark starts his gospel at the baptism of Jesus and, while John starts at the beginning of time he gives no details of the early life of Jesus or John. Matthew is the only other gospel that talks about Jesus’ birth yet he gives us no information about John’s. Unfortunately, we don’t know where Luke’s information about John and Jesus came from and why none of the other Gospel writers knew it (or, if they did, why they didn’t include it). While there has been much speculation on this issue all of it is based on very few clues and gives us no insight into Luke’s reasoning.

In his telling of the early life of Jesus Luke gives us three songs that he alone records which have been used by the church in worship throughout her history: the songs of Mary, Zachariah, and Simeon (The Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc dimittis). Did he have a source of Jesus’ and John’s life that no other New Testament writer had? Did he compose these himself? Were they hymns of the Christian community he belonged to? Again we cannot say. It could actually be a little bit of all three. 

Today we used Zachariah’s song in the place of the psalm. You remember his story: He was chosen by lot to serve in the temple. While there, before the altar of incense, the angel Gabriel came to him and told him that his prayers had been heard and Elizabeth would bear him a son. Since he expressed disbelief, he was struck mute. This, apparently, did not make him unable to perform his duties in the temple. Elizabeth did become pregnant and bore a son. On the eighth day when the child was to be circumcised and given a name those who came to perform the ritual were going to name him Zachariah after his father. Before they did Zachariah took a tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” as Gabriel had instructed him. At that moment he was able to speak and his first words were the  Benedictus. 

This song is about the fulfillment of a promise that the Israelites had long awaited. Although their wait was not an easy one. I suppose waiting is never easy. Just take our modern life as an example. I can think of many examples of companies that offer quick even next-day service. Usually with an extra cost that we are willing to pay because, for most of us, we just don’t like to wait. But that is not the way of the church. We use this time to remind ourselves of God’s salvation. The long wait for the birth of Jesus. The wait for Jesus to come into our lives. The wait for Jesus’ return when he will bring us all into God’s heavenly kingdom.  Do not squander this time on the commercial abuse of God’s gift of Jesus. Instead, use this time to prepare yourself to be dazzled by the humble birth of the savior of the world about whom the angels sing. Wrap yourself in the love of God and be filled with the peace that only God can give.