Context No. 3245 of 4322 · Luke

Luke 1:67-80: in context

67His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; 69and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old), 71salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, 73the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, 74to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, 78because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, 79to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 80The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Zechariah, silent for nine months, is filled with the Holy Spirit and bursts into prophecy, the song we call the Benedictus. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, remembering his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham. And to his newborn son John: you will be a prophet who goes before the Lord to prepare his ways.

His song looks two directions at once: back, to God remembering the covenant and the ancient oath to Abraham, and forward, to the child who will prepare the Lord's way. And at the heart of it lies the reason for all of it: because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness. Salvation comes not because we earned it but because of God's tender mercy, a sunrise breaking over people sitting in the dark, guiding their feet into the way of peace. The whole song rests on mercy, not merit.

Do I receive my salvation as the fruit of God's tender mercy, a dawn breaking over my darkness, rather than something I achieved?

Sources

Luke 1:78: "Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us."
Luke 1:72: "To show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant."
Luke 1:79: "To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace."