Wednesday of Ember Week in Advent
Posted on December 20, 2023 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
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, did not immediately believe the angel Gabriel’s announcement that he would have a son, and that his son would be the forerunner of the promised Christ. But Zacharias indicated that the child’s name would be John, and Zacharias then uses his newly restored voice for a great prophecy.
That prophecy highlights many things that are good for us to remember. Zacharias confesses that salvation is entirely the work of the Lord God of Israel; that the Christ who was coming was of the house and lineage of David; and that God had made and repeated this promise through His prophets since the world began. This means, of course, that the promise of the Christ was not built up and refined by human knowledge over the course of time, but delivered by God through the prophets.
Once again we are reminded that our God would be known first and foremost as the God of grace and mercy; the God who alone can and does give us the forgiveness of our sins. John would serve this God by preaching repentance, to prepare the way for Jesus. And while John was known for his preaching of repentance and the Law, he did this to properly prepare God’s people to hear the Gospel, which he also proclaimed to them, pointing out that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Collect: Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that with the coming solemnity of our Lord’s birth to accomplish our redemption, through Thy Holy Word and Sacraments, Thou would strengthen our faith in Christ Jesus, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for Gaudete
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.
Collect for the Season of Advent
Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; 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.
