St. Luke 1: 57 – 80

December 11, 2022

57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Tough decision this morning; as I’ve explained before, there are often two or three readings for a Sunday and today was the selection above, as well as 1Thess 5: 12-23. I liked the 1Thess verses very much but this is the Third Sunday in Advent and the verses above fit more closely with the Incarnation and our celebration on December 25th.

We talked earlier about Jesus and John recognizing each other in the womb. John, from birth, knew what he would do with his life – he would prepare the way of the Lord. God has given us free will; John could easily have chosen a profession or to be a shepherd or any one of many things available at that time and place. But he followed his destiny; he followed God’s will. The Bible is full, of course, of people who followed God’s will but it doesn’t shy away from those who didn’t and their eventual outcomes. Sterling examples of which road to choose.

These are lessons we should take to heart and let be our guide. 1Thessalonians chapter 5 states: 16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us. I’m not going to preach but each day, as we open our eyes, our first thought should be to thank God for another day and the opportunity to do His will through Jesus Christ Who strengthens us. Can I get an Amen?

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