This week the New Testament lesson is from Luke 1:68-79:
68"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
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,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."
This story is called the Benedictus. In it, the prophet Zechariah is thanking God for giving him a son. His son is none other than John the Baptist. Like Jesus, John's birth is miraculous because his parents were way past their childbearing and rearing years. It's also miraculous because this is the first time in nine months Zechariah speaks. You see, the angel Gabriel punished him to silence because he didn't believe him when the angel said he would have a son. Zechariah's song exudes joy, which is pretty amazing because he was something of an old grump!
There are lots of things that come to my mind when I read this passage, such as: are there things that happen to us that seem too good to believe? Are there times when silence is best? And what would it take for me to have a change of heart?
What about you? What do you think about when you read Zechariah's song?