2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 / Luke 1:67-79

We are closing the Advent Season. Tonight we will gather to joyfully celebrate the Vigil of the Solemnity of Christmas, the birth of Jesus!

On this last day of Advent, the evangelist Luke presents us with the famous "canticle of Zechariah" (the "Benedictus"), the priest and father of the newborn John the Baptist. This canticle is so important that the Church recites it every day in the morning prayer, called Lauds, in the Liturgy of the Hours.

It is a wonderful praise to God, who fulfills His oath to the patriarch Abraham and His promise to David, the famous king of Israel, as the prophets foretold. In this canticle, the priest Zechariah said that his newborn son would go before the Lord to prepare His ways. Yes, Zechariah was speaking of the child growing in the womb of the Virgin Mary, Joseph’s wife, who would be born in six months. In other words, the Lord Jesus!

We are invited to join Zechariah in praising God with a thankful and joyful heart. And may we be like John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus so that He may reach the hearts of all people!

And in the second book of Samuel, we have God’s response to King David through the prophet Nathan. David wanted to build a house for God to dwell in. But God said that it would be He who would build a house for David. God would raise up, after David, his heir, who would be confirmed in royalty forever. God said that He would be a father to him, and that he would be a son to God.

For us Christians, this heir of King David is Jesus, the Son of God, who is in the womb of Mary, whose upcoming birth is the reason for our joy!

Let us rejoice in the Lord, who fulfills His promise of salvation!

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

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