Tag: Zechariah

Sitting in darkness

But God’s light breaks in

Luke 1:68-79 Zechariah’s song:

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.

He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David,

Just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. …

So we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness

For as long as we live. …

Because of God’s tender mercy,

The morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,

To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

And to guide us to the path of peace.

Do you, too, “sit in darkness”? How would you describe that darkness: anxiety and worry, fears for the future, stuckness over wounds in the past and harmful habits in the present? Do you, too, long for guidance to a path of peace?

Shutterstock: Vlue

Last week the prophet Zechariah from the Old Testament spoke to us about a Day of the Lord bringing life-giving waters to our parched souls. Five hundred years later, the Holy Spirit prophesied through another Zechariah, a priest, father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:67), this time about the gift of light breaking through our darkness.

Three months before Zechariah gave this prophecy, the angel Gabriel informed Mary, newly pregnant with Jesus, that another miraculous pregnancy had taken place: her barren elderly relative Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, also expected a baby!

Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth, who by the Spirit recognized the baby growing in Mary’s womb as her Lord. “You are blessed because you believed,” Elizabeth told Mary, in contrast to her husband, who had spent the last six months unable to speak because of his early, shocked disbelief in Gabriel’s message to him. Mary responded with a song of praise we call the Magnificat. We’ll look at this song next week.

After his son John was born, Zechariah prophesied that his child would prepare the way for the Lord, a mighty Savior who would provide salvation and forgiveness of sins to his people. Quoting Malachi and Isaiah, Zechariah foretold Mary’s baby’s birth as light from heaven about to break upon them, offered to the dark world through the tender mercies of God.

Two surprise visits from the angel Gabriel. Two miraculous pregnancies. Two sons. Four celebratory songs. A host of angels. Multiple shepherds. Two elderly witnesses. The fulfillment of ancient covenants and prophecies.

Luke compressed unspeakable wonder into the first two chapters of his Gospel. No wonder Mary needed to take a step back and ponder all that had broken into her heretofore unremarkable experience (Luke 2:19).

Advent offers us space to do the same: to consider the marvels of her baby’s first coming and what they mean to us. To open our hearts in hope of receiving the Spirit’s tender mercies. To welcome his light into our darkness. To deepen our hope as we anticipate his return in glory. And to find the path to the Prince of peace.

Shine Jesus Shine, Graham Kendrick

How long?

But God’s Spirit is more effective than force or strength December 3, 2025

Zechariah 4:6, 7:12 “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. … They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.

Zechariah 9:9, 16; 14:1, 8-9 Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey … On that day the Lord will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. … Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming. … On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem … and the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.

Image by Carol Amidi

As we enter Advent, the prophet Zechariah offers our last insight into the Holy Spirit at work in the Old Testament. Through God’s Spirit, Zechariah envisioned Advent themes: the sanctification of God’s people ushering in a new age of holiness, and a great shepherd, Messiah, coming to reign over a new kingdom of perfect harmony. Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming, when all earth will be rescued from evil, renewed, rejuvenated, restored.

Zechariah assisted his fellow prophet Haggai, encouraging the people living in Palestine after the Exile to finish rebuilding the Temple and reinstitute worship there under a revitalized priesthood. Centuries later, after the Messiah did come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Paul would explain to believers in Messiah’s redemptive work that they themselves, their own bodies, were now the Temple of God, through the Holy Spirit living within them. We, too, need rebuilding from the impact of evil in our time, our worship reinvigorated.

We, too, seek the Lord’s transformation, both personally and collectively, as we also await the Messiah’s coming for the “last battle” as CS Lewis called it. This time, he will usher in the Kingdom, uniting heaven and earth.

We, too, watch and wait for the coming of the Lord, our Shepherd and King.

Zechariah’s words resonate today. We, too, must turn from our evil ways and practices:

Don’t be afraid. But this is what you must do:

Tell the truth to each other.

Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.

Don’t scheme against each other.

Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth.

              I hate all these things, says the Lord. … So love truth and peace.

(Zechariah 1:4; 8:15-17, 19)

How, though? How can we change these things that are so embedded in our culture, in our own hearts? Not by force, nor by strength, but by God’s Spirit, Zechariah tells us. This Advent let’s open our hearts to God’s Spirit so he can do beautiful, regenerative work within and among us.

“How Long” by Ann VosKamp, Leslie Jordan, and Trillia Newbell, sung by St. Andrew’s Lutheran