Advent 2
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
-- Luke 1:78-79
This is Zechariah's prophecy once his tongue was loosed upon the naming of John. A major theme of scripture is that the memory of what God has done in the past gives us confidence of what God will do in the future. Zechariah drew on the memory of God's faithfulness to David and the promises that God made through the prophets to build a sense of hope for the future. He saw the history of the people of Israel as fulfillment of the original promise made to Abraham. The vision was of a consistent and faithful God who could be counted upon to raise up prophets who would prepare God's way. In his child, John, Zechariah sees God once again providing hope for God's people. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins."
All of this would ultimately culminate in the fulfillment of God's intention for the whole world. The vision of Zechariah's prophecy was that God would provide a path "to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." As we participate in the second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to reflect on the path that leads to light in darkness and peace for the world. For us this path finds its fulfillment in the birth of Christ who becomes our peace. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:19, "... in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us." Are there ways in this Advent season that we, too, might not count people's trespasses against them and take a step toward effecting the reconciliation and peace that we seek in Christ?
-- Luke 1:78-79
This is Zechariah's prophecy once his tongue was loosed upon the naming of John. A major theme of scripture is that the memory of what God has done in the past gives us confidence of what God will do in the future. Zechariah drew on the memory of God's faithfulness to David and the promises that God made through the prophets to build a sense of hope for the future. He saw the history of the people of Israel as fulfillment of the original promise made to Abraham. The vision was of a consistent and faithful God who could be counted upon to raise up prophets who would prepare God's way. In his child, John, Zechariah sees God once again providing hope for God's people. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins."
All of this would ultimately culminate in the fulfillment of God's intention for the whole world. The vision of Zechariah's prophecy was that God would provide a path "to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." As we participate in the second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to reflect on the path that leads to light in darkness and peace for the world. For us this path finds its fulfillment in the birth of Christ who becomes our peace. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:19, "... in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us." Are there ways in this Advent season that we, too, might not count people's trespasses against them and take a step toward effecting the reconciliation and peace that we seek in Christ?
