To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace

Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

"Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited and redeemed His people,

And has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

who have been since the world began,

That we should be saved from our enemies

And from the hand of all who hate us,

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers

And to remember His holy covenant,

The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

to grant us that we,

Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest:

For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

To give knowledge of salvation to His people

By the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace."

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

- Luke 1:67-80

In yesterday's lectionary reading, we read the Magnificat of Mary, the beautiful prayer that echoes down the ages, through the women of the bible before Mary with whom the Lord interacted and bestowed grace, through whom we received works of the Holy Spirit. See My soul magnifies the Lord. Mary also went to her kinswoman Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, and stayed with her through his birth. As Mary helped to bring the baby John into the world, so the Baptist will be the forerunner, helping to deliver into the world the ministry of Christ, of Jesus, Mary's child. Today we read of Zacharias' first words after his child is born. On Tuesday, we read of Zacharias' vision in the temple as he burned the incense, and the visitation and prophecy of Gabriel to him. Zacharias was mute from that encounter, his failure to embrace the prophecy made to him. In today's reading, the baby John has just been circumcised, and Zacharias has stunned his relatives by giving the baby a name that is not a part of his lineage, as he was guided to do by Gabriel. John means "God is Gracious."

My study bible has a note on this song of Zacharias in today's passage. "The song of the priest Zacharias (often called the Benedictus, the first word of the song in Latin) is a prophetic hymn of praise to God. God is blessed for His gracious and redeeming acts among His people in fulfillment of the messianic promises now at hand. Verses 76 and 77 speak of John and his role as the prophet of God preparing the people to receive Christ."

Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, . . . Throughout the readings of recent days, we learn about the action of the Holy Spirit and His communicative bonding through all people whom He touches. Mary and Elizabeth met together, and immediately understood the holy connection between them and their babies. Here, Zacharias' tongue is loosened at the naming of his son according to the instructions of the angel Gabriel, and he prophesies for all of us to read.

. . . saying: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David . . . " Throughout this prophesy, there are many references to Old Testament Scripture, echoes of events past, and the prayers that fill the events of the history of Israel, or the People of God. This canticle is a prophecy of the fulfillment of prophecy, the manifestation of the Messiah. A "horn" is symbolic of power or strength, and in this case it is the power of salvation ... in the house of His servant David. Jesus' name means "God is Salvation" and he will be considered "Savior" and "Redeemer." Through His father/guardian Joseph, Jesus is of the house of David.

"As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life." The prophesy of redemption lies in the freedom to worship and to serve. The enemies are those who oppose the worship of the God of Israel, who seek to enslave and curb the freedom of those who wish to worship. The entire canticle is in the tone of one who wishes the freedom to serve and to fulfill the covenant between God and God's people, sworn to the forefather Abraham. To serve in holiness and righteousness is to be redeemed by being freed from the slavery of sin. It is a poem of spiritual liberation - the divine freedom to serve God as the manifestation of the liberty promised by the Messiah.

"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest: For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins . . ." John the Baptist will be the Forerunner, the one who heralds the Messiah and His ministry. Jesus will call him the greatest of the prophets. John will preach, echoing the prophet Isaiah, that the people are to "prepare the way of the Lord," and to "make His paths straight." He will "preach a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."

". . . Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." The Greek that is translated here as "Dayspring" is literally the word for "sunrise." It also is used to mean the East, the direction from which the sunlight comes, and the sun rises out of the darkness. The Dayspring from "on high" is the Messiah, who comes to us through the "tender mercy of our God" -- "for God so loved the world." The shadow of death is the shadow of sin and of all evil, the enslavement from which we need the liberation praised in this beautiful canticle. And perhaps most beautiful of all, the gift of spiritual liberation is the promised "way of peace."

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. My study bible notes that "two things in particular are important for the child John: (1) he needs to grow strong physically, and (2) he needs to grow strong in spirit. Like some Old Testament prophets, especially Elijah, John practiced solitude with God until he was called to begin his ministry." John exemplifies the spiritual freedom of the prophets, of those who are dedicated with all their soul, and heart and mind and strength" to serving the God of Israel. He is freed from the fetters of the society, liberated to God's love so that he may preach and fulfill his role as greatest of the prophets, and Forerunner and herald to Christ.

The theme in today's canticle is that of spiritual liberation. We don't often hear talk of this necessarily in a Christian context. But spiritual freedom is an essential part of our understanding of who we are, to my mind. In this context of the prophesy of Zacharias, given through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, liberation - true, essential freedom of the people - is the freedom to worship and to serve God, the God through which a covenant was made with their ancestors in the person of their father Abraham. To fulfill this prophecy is to be redeemed from slavery to death and its shadow, to the evil of the world, and to live life in communion with God, as God's people. There is a picture of this liberation in Jeremiah chapter 31, in language which is echoed (in verse 77) of Zacharias' canticle: "No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the LORD. 'For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'” True liberation will come for the people of God through the anointing of the Holy Spirit for all the people, which the Messiah will leave as the culmination of His incarnation and ministry to the world. Liberation for the whole of the people of God comes from the lifting of the darkness and the shadow of death through a knowledge of the Lord. Knowing takes on its deepest connotation of communion here, of relatedness and relationship. We will be blessed through a ministry of the Anointed One - for whom John the Baptist prepares the way - who will in turn anoint us. This is a liberation of His people for a purpose: to guide our feet into the way of peace. This liberating Messiah is not a fearful warrior, but a guide to peace, to the peace that comes to each one of us in this kingdom linked by the anointing, by His Spirit. Jesus will teach at the Last Supper (in John chapter 14): "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives." Let us remember that His Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth, and that it is in John's Gospel that Jesus teaches, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." This Helper, Comforter, Advocate is bestowed upon us all through this ministry for liberation, freedom - so that we may learn how to walk the paths of peace, which is the true blessing of a life lived in the freedom to serve and worship, to practice holiness and righteousness in this kingdom, in all the infinite ways the Spirit can teach us to do that in our lives. The Benedictus, the canticle of Zacharias, contains it all, prophesied for us - for all who can accept it, and claim this liberation, and learn the true meaning of peace.