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Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Read Luke 1:13-17

“He will turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and he will turn the disobedient to righteous patterns of thinking. He will make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” —Luke 1:17b

Zechariah was an old man. He had served for many years as a priest in the temple, but today was different. He had been chosen by lot to offer the incense at the inner altar in the temple sanctuary. This was an honor that usually came only once in a lifetime, and the community was assembled to watch. He would enter the holy place alone, clean the ashes, and offer the new incense, and then bless the gathered people when he exited.

But things did not go as planned. When he entered the holy place, the angel Gabriel was waiting for him. After calming his fears, the angel told him that Zechariah’s barren wife Elizabeth would bear a son who would be the herald for a new age in Israel. This son, John, would be a holy man who would be sent to prepare the community of Israel for their greatest event—the coming of their Messiah.

Verse 17 is the core of Gabriel’s message. Echoing the oracles of Malachi, Gabriel tells of a messenger who will bind together the people and turn them toward the future. Parents will look to their children, the time to come, rather than the children shifting back to the ways of their parents. The way ahead would be one of righteousness, where all God’s people would wait in breathless expectation for the Lord’s arrival.

The community of the church today looks back during Advent to a birth over two thousand years ago. But Advent is also a time of looking forward, when the Messiah comes again. When Christ returns as promised, God’s righteousness will rule the earth, and the kingdom of God will reign. As people of Jesus Christ, we are still the community who is preparing the way of the Lord. By living as people of the kingdom of God here on earth, we are tasked to make a space for holiness and righteousness and, through the guidance and blessing of Jesus Christ, bring glimmers of the world to come within the world we are in today. In that way, we continue to celebrate Advent with a heart of expectation, even though we celebrate a birth that took place over two thousand years ago.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus! Let us prepare your way. Amen.