Daily Mass Gospel Reflection- Battle Tested

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 12-24-21 | Aux. Bishop R. Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Fourth Week of Advent

Luke 1:67-79

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Canticle of Zechariah declares how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament’s expectations of salvation. I would like to explore two lines of that great prayer today.

The God of Israel, Zechariah prays, “has come to his people and set them free.” This is what God always wants to do. He hates the fact that we’ve become enslaved by sin and fear, and accordingly, he wants to liberate us. The central event of the Old Testament is an event of liberation from slavery. We are, as sinners, enslaved to our pride, our envy, our anger, our appetites, our greed, our lust—all of which wrap us up and keep us from being the people that we want to be.

Zechariah continues: “He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David.” God will effect this liberation through the instrumentation of a mighty Savior. This should be read against the background of Israel’s long history of military struggle against its enemies. A great warrior has come, and he is from the house of Israel’s greatest soldier, David. God had promised that he would put a descendant of David on the throne of Israel for all eternity, and Zechariah is prophesying that this will take place.

Reflect: How does your faith guard you against fear or liberate you?

[MurphsLaw]

+++Zechariah his father, filled with
the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Israel;
for 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 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
hand
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.”+++