This morning the Church closes the season of Advent by reading the first words that Zachariah spoke when his child was named John and his muteness was ended.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The passage from the end of chapter 1 of Luke's gospel is called the Canticle of Zachariah. Anyone who prays morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours prays these words every single day. It is the song of a father filled with the Holy Spirit prophesying the role his son will grow up to play in the history or the world.
Tomorrow "the dawn from on high shall break upon" and the words spoken to the infant John by his father are spoken to each of us.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
We are all called to be John, to proclaim salvation, to proclaim forgiveness. As we gather with family and/or friends this Christmas Eve and even those of us who will spend a quiet evening alone, let this be a time to forgive, a time to allow the healing Spirit of God to heal the wounds that divide us. Let us spend this last day of Advent preparing a place in our hearts to receive the Child Jesus.
