Daily Gospel Reflection – Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent
December 24, 2021
Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:57-66
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.”
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bishop Robert Barron
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?
COMMENTS