Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalms 45, 46, 89:1-29
Revelation 22:12-17
Luke 1:67-80
Luke 1:67-80
Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel
Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel
To
guide our steps into the path of peace.
Zechariah's
hymn about the coming of the Christ child is about the anticipation of Advent
and the wonders of Jesus’ life on earth.
He begins with a praise of God and ends with a promise of peace. During this busy Advent season, most of us
begin with thankful feelings that God sent his son to walk among us.
However,
preparing for Christmas can be stressful.
While all my Christmases have been merry, sometimes the days leading up
to the big day have been disastrous. The
time we took our children to a tree farm, picked out a tree, chopped it down,
tied it to the top of our car, and then watched it blow off the car roof on our
way home; or the time our toddlers knocked over the decorated Christmas tree
twice; or the year we moved six kids, my parents and us into a new house three
weeks before Christmas; or the year I got pneumonia and on and on. No matter what has happened before Christmas
eve, that night when I attend Midnight Mass as we sing “Silent Night” with a
darkened church and our lighted candles, a wonderful feeling of peace and calm
comes over me.
Zechariah's
hymn concludes, "to guide our steps into the path of peace." On this holy night as God brings peace and
power into our lives let us remember those who lead frightful and dangerous
lives and be thankful that we have so much.
Praise the Lord.
Susan Montgomery