Wednesday after Gaudete, the Third Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 16, 2020 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 1:67-80 (NKJV)
1:67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,
70 as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
73 the oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, being delivered from 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 you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Devotion
With John’s birth God begins His gracious visitation by which He will redeem His people. He is delivering them from the hands of their enemies as was promised to their fathers, especially God’s oath to Abraham. These enemies are not national enemies. The enemies of God’s people are not the Babylonians, Persians, Syrians, or Romans. The true enemies from which Israel needs salvation are sin, death, and the power of the devil.
That is why this child will “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” How? “To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercies of our God.” John came preaching repentance. “Be sorry for your sins. Confess them. Turn from them and pursue virtue rather than your sin! Receive the forgiveness of sins, not on account of anything you’ve done, but through the tender mercies of our God.” The Holy Spirit teaches us the ministry of the New Testament through Zacharias’ words.
This forgiveness and salvation gives us eternal life. But it has a purpose in this life as well. “To grant 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.” We are forgiven through faith in Christ, so we are to strive for holiness and righteousness each day of our lives. God wants us to forsake our sins and serve others in love, serving Him without fear, but in joy and love, because He fulfills His promise.
Prayer: Lord, we beseech Thee, give ear to our prayers and lighten the darkness of our hearts by Thy gracious visitation; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
