“You, child, will be
called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare
his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of
their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break
upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:76-79
At the beginning of this semester, I committed to blog twice
weekly as a way to reach out to students at Baylor University, where I am the
United Methodist campus minister. It appears that some non-students have
followed along. Classes end tomorrow. So I will be taking a break until a new
semester begins in January. Then I’ll post once a week. Twice weekly was way too
ambitious, and I want to savor the scriptures.
I end this semester where I began, with the scripture from
which this blog takes its name. Zechariah is praising God after the birth of
his son, John the Baptist, who will prepare the way for the coming of Christ. His
words remain part of Christian worship and are said or sung by many Christian
communities at least once a week.
Kathleen Norris, a writer who often worships with Benedictines,
has said that she sang this scripture for years before she realized “you, child”
meant her. We can join in these words because we, too, are meant to be “prophets
of the Most High,” who go before the Lord to prepare people’s hearts to receive
Christ and to give them “knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their
sins.” Through us, the “dawn from on high” breaks in to shine in their darkness
and guide them into the way of peace.
How better to prepare people’s hearts to receive God’s forgiveness
than to give them our own? to demonstrate that it is possible to enter into the
way of peace because we have? Maybe we haven’t fully entered in, but God is at
work in us. As God’s tender mercy appears through us, dawn breaks, at least in
one small part of God’s world. What a privilege to bear the dawn, however
imperfectly.
God’s peace,
Katie
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