Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, December 31, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Almost as soon as Zechariah could speak again, he prophesied. He was a priest, after all, but this was something altogether different. Following his encounter with Gabriel, he had nine months without being able to speak, in which he had plenty to time to contemplate what this all meant. Gabriel had essentially told him that John would be a prophet, but Zechariah proclaims the nature of John’s prophecy—to prepare the way of the Lord. He doesn’t specifically mention Jesus. “The Lord” could be God. But the implication is that God is about to do a new thing, and the people need to be prepared to receive it. John is the one God has chosen to do the preparing, which we know from later texts that he does by baptizing people in the Jordan River and calling upon them to change their ways, to prepare their hearts for the coming of God’s promised messiah: Jesus.
Zechariah was clearly moved by the whole experience. And maybe there was some pride that his son had been chosen for such an important task. I wonder how he felt when John—his only son, born late in life—wandered into the desert wearing camel’s hair and eating locusts and wild honey. Sure, that’s what a lot of prophets did, but as a parent, I’m sure a part of Zechariah might have wanted a “normal” son who stayed in the family business and became a priest in the way Zechariah was. On the other hand, maybe Zechariah was one of those dads who fully supported his son’s chosen path. Especially since that path was chosen by God.
Does my calling in life ever cause conflict with my family or the people around me?
