Benedictus

 Now Elizabeth' full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.  When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.  So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 

His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John."  But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."  So they made signs to his father -- what he would have him called.  And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John."  So they all marveled.  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.  Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.  And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?"  And the hand of the Lord was with him.

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 1:57-80

In the first reading for today, we have read the story of Mary's song, called the Magnificat.  Now Mary arose in those days (after Gabriel's Annunciation to her) and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.  And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.  Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."  And Mary said:  "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.   For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.  For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.  And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with His arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.  He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,  As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever."  And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

 Now Elizabeth' full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.  When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.  So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.  My study bible tells us that circumcision was a sign of Israel's covenant with God and the means by which a male became a member of God's community (Genesis 17:10; Leviticus 12:3).  In Christ, circumcision is fulfilled in baptism (see Colossians 2:11).

His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John."  But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."  So they made signs to his father -- what he would have him called.  And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John."   My study bible says that John means "grace of God."  It says, "By insisting on the name God chose for her son, Elizabeth affirms God has called John to a specific mission (see also 1:31; Genesis 17:5, 15; 32:28)."

So they all marveled.  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.  Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.  And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?"  And the hand of the Lord was with him.  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."   A note tell us:  "When Zacharias assented to God's will, his mouth was opened.  Just as prophecy is restored at the Incarnation of Christ, so Zachariaas, as high priest, can speak again now that the Savior and His forerunne3r have come.  Note Zacharias immediately declares Christ (vv. 68-69), and secondly declares the role of his own son as prophet of the Highest."

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 tells us:  "Dwelling in the desert, away from the stains and wickedness of the masses, John is able to fight temptation and grow strong in spirit.  According to the tradition of the Church, John was brought to the deserts by Elizabeth when Zacharias was martyred, and there was ministered to by angels."

Zacharias has been rendered mute because of his doubt of the word of Gabriel as he performed his priestly duties at the altar.  But at his assent to the name John for his son, he is filled with the Holy Spirit.  If you think about it, this name is the sign that the Baptist isn't just the property of his father and mother, he will not merely reflect family lineage -- he's not given a family name.  Rather, John is a child consecrated to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is what the selection of the name tells us.  At Zacharias' assent to this name by writing it on a tablet (making certain we understand its meaning as "grace of God"), he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and a song of prophecy results.  It is a song prophesying the coming of the Lord of salvation, and the role that will be played by John, whom we shall know as John the Baptist.  It is a song of blessing; we call it the Benedictus.  It is also a song of deliverance from enemies, which is another aspect of a redeemer that we don't often think about.  It is the meaning of the term "to ransom."  The purpose for this deliverance from enemies is to worship in peace, and to spread the light of the "Dayspring" comes in visitation of His people, "to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."  The Holy Spirit speaks through Zachariah, and we are to take his words to heart.  From what do we wish to be delivered, and what for?  There is a clear expression here of the purpose of our lives, of what freedom an enemy curbs in our capture, and what we are liberated in order to do in peace.  Can we set our lives on this sort of plane, on this basis for an understanding of freedom and what it means?  Do we understand what it is to find salvation through the "tender mercy" of God, and the greatness of the mission to give light and to "guide our feet into the way of peace?"  This is the central core of the message, that a redeemer will ransom us in order to spread God's light and peace, to lift the darkness and those who suffer in the shadow of death.  As we celebrate the coming of the Light, let us remember what life is all about at its core, in the center of the message here.