Daily Devotional • December 24
A Reading from Luke 1:67-80
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
Meditation
Those of us familiar with the daily office will recognize this passage from Luke. Christians all over the world recite this prayer — which is an old prophecy sung by Zechariah upon the birth of his son, John — every day in morning prayer. We call it the Benedictus Dominus Deus, which means “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,” a name taken from the opening words of the song, and we often make the sign of the cross as we say these words, marking ourselves as belonging to the God whose name we call upon.
Zechariah’s song foretells not only the birth of Jesus, the one God promised would set us free. The song also acknowledges John as the one who will go before Jesus, pointing others to him. It’s a beautiful song, one full of hope and joy. And there’s a reason we recite it as often as we can: to remind ourselves that Jesus has come, and that his coming changes everything.
Today, we might also put ourselves in the place of John, the one whom Zechariah anoints to direct others towards Jesus. In a sense, we are all John. All of us are called to direct our lives toward Jesus and to point others toward him as well. As we close the season of Advent, perhaps this is a moment to ask how each of us can be a little more like John. We have good news! Jesus has come to set us free! Let us speak boldly and courageously of all that he has accomplished.
Elizabeth Hamilton’s writing has appeared in the Dallas Museum of Art, Southern Humanities Review, and Texas Monthly. She has an MFA from Seattle Pacific University. Find her work at elizabethannehamilton.com
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Kuching – Church of the Province of South East Asia
Trinity Parish, St. Augustine, Florida
