In these last hours of Advent – as we prepare to receive the light and love of Jesus Christ and assent to Christ’s being born anew into our hearts and into world – we hear the Benedictus, the Canticle of Zechariah, in today’s Gospel. After a period of time in which he could not speak, Zechariah utters these first words, which he proclaims in a hymn of joy at the birth of his son, John, the forerunner who will prepare the way for the Messiah, the one who will fulfill the promises of God to God’s people, Israel. Scripture scholar Raymond Brown notes that this hymn, one of four that Luke has inserted into his infancy narrative, is perhaps the oldest preserved Jewish Christian prayer of praise to God. The Church prays it each morning in her Liturgy of the Hours. When we pray it, whether whispered alone in prayer or sung in community, we place ourselves in the position of our most ancient ancestors who received the first spark of faith, and who kept it aflame throughout the ages. We pray it, even through the darkest nights, trusting that the “dawn from on High shall break upon us.

Now, with them, we recall what God has done in that first coming of Christ into our world. With them we too are inspired to keep the faith, to stay strong, patient and vigilant, and to maintain that spirit of hope-filled preparation for the second coming of Christ in glory. Fittingly we hear the Benedictus proclaimed today -- and we pray it together with the whole Church  at the culmination of a season in which we “relive the story of Israel and its expectations, which we believe are fulfilled in Jesus,”[1] the one who sets us free, who dispels the darkness, and who guides our feet into the way of peace.

1 Raymond E. Brown. A Coming Christ in Advent. Essays on the Gospel Narratives Preparing for the Birth of Jesus Matthew 1 and Luke 1, Collegeville, Minnasota: The Liturgical Press, 1988, p.59.

This Advent Reflection was originally scheduled for December 24th. Technical issues kept it from being published on Tuesday, so we are publishing it today. We hope you enjoyed our Advent Reflection series.