God has Come to his People and Set them Free"
Today's Mass Readings
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free.” Thus prophesies Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah’s exultation upon learning about Jesus the Messiah must be understood in the context of the Jewish people, who had endured many hardships and, at the time of Zechariah, were eagerly anticipating the coming of a Messiah. The first reading’s account of David gives some of the greater historical context for Zechariah’s exultation. This passage from 2 Samuel describes David’s concern about God not having a dwelling place. The Lord responds by telling David that when David dies, his heir will make firm his Kingdom. Regarding this king who is to come, the Lord says, “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.”
When Zechariah prophesies, therefore, he mentions that God has “raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David.” Jesus is the king who makes firm the Davidic kingdom. While the kingdom at the time of David was a great one, an even better one is here now; the kingdom where Christ reigns. Zechariah, a priest and man of great prayer, experienced the coming of this kingdom first hand, when his barren and aged wife Elizabeth became pregnant with their son. Zechariah prophesied that his son, John the Baptist would “go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” And to all of us, Jesus is the dawn from on high, light in darkness and death. In these winter months – time of darkness – the imagery is profound. Jesus is the light for us! The kingdom he brings is an everlasting one! Let us, like Zechariah, eagerly anticipate the coming of this kingdom in the birth of the child Jesus.
In this last day of Advent, may we turn our minds and hearts ever more fully to Christ, the light of the world and son of David who comes to us to set us free!
- Maria Morrow