Luke 1:77-79 (The Message):
And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest”,
Will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
Those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.
I confess that it has been many months since I’ve witnessed the sun rise. With retirement came the opportunity to sleep later. I wish I could say that the allure of seeing a beautiful sunrise is reason enough to set an early alarm. It isn’t for me. However, I have memories of many nights when I did see the sunrise, and it was a glorious, welcome sight. Many years ago, I worked with the youth group, and lock-ins were all the rage at the time. They convinced me to supervise two of those. Lock-ins were the events where the youth spent the night at the church. Those lock-ins were two of the longest nights for me. While some youth did finally fall asleep, I was pretty much awake all night. I thought dawn would never come. Likewise, I’ve had other sleepless nights when I thought the darkness would never end: pacing the floor with a fussy baby, up and down with a stomach virus or letting worries occupy my mind so that sleep wouldn’t come. The rising of the sun was such a welcome sight. It somehow gave me renewed hope and energy. It made such a difference to my spirit.
The scripture passage above is the ending of Zechariah’s prophesy after the birth of his son John. Many translations use “dawn from heaven,” which is a beautiful image. But writing this today, I am especially drawn to the imagery of “God’s Sunrise” in The Message. I’ve always thought that the reference here was only to Jesus, but the commentaries I consulted said that these verses are all a prophecy about John. He is the first ray of sunlight peeking over the horizon. He is not the true light, but the first indication of the light to come, which is Jesus, God incarnate. What welcome news to a people who had been waiting centuries for a Savior. Rather than stumbling in the dark, trying to make their way to God by themselves, a Savior was coming. And with John’s birth, His messenger – the “dayspring from on high” (KJV) – had arrived. He would tell the people how to prepare for the true light of the world. His message is for us, too. We have a Savior. Someone to show us the way to God; someone who will reconcile us to Him forever. John’s message is the same for us as for the Hebrew people 2000 years ago: Get ready. Prepare. This advent season, may we take time to meditate on John’s message: an offer of forgiveness, a time to turn from our selfish paths and turn our hearts to God.
God’s sunrise is coming. What a welcome sight! What a difference that will make! May we all be ready for the new day.
Prayer:
Oh God, thank you for your constant presence in our lives. Forgive us when we stumble blindly along, trying to have everything our way. Pierce our darkness and help prepare us once again for Your coming. Help us to see the light of your love, truth and mercy and then let that light into our souls so that we may reflect it out to the world. We ask this in the blessed name of your son Jesus, Amen.
Mary Sue Beahm
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