Advent Devotional - December 17

December 17

Luke 1:57-58

"Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy."

Luke 1:58

It is not hard to understand the joy of the community surrounding Elizabeth and Zechariah. This couple had waited so long for a child, and now, beyond all hope, God had given them a son. The angel of the Lord, in announcing to Zechariah that he would soon be a father, said of the coming child, “many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” Friends and neighbors shared Elizabeth and Zechariah’s joy, but that joy would not be confined to their small circle of friends and family. The angel continues, “Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord… to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

…to make ready a people, prepared for the Lord. Though Zechariah was the only one who heard those words, a similar hope had been offered by the prophet Isaiah, hundreds of years before. “A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Those around Elizabeth and Zechariah were seeing the glory of the Lord in the miracle birth of John. Yes, they shared her joy as did many others who years later were brought to God as John helped make ready a people for the Lord.

Prayer: Incarnate One, make ready your people for the coming Christ. May we share the joy of all who await his return. Amen.

Jim Abernathy