December 7

Luke 1:76-79

And 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.”

The Road to Peace 

In verses 76-78 God speaks to John, son of Elizabeth and Zachariah, telling him about his mission to introduce the Gospel.  Did you know that “gospel” means “Good Tidings!” or “Good News!”?  The name Jesus is derived from a Hebrew word that means “savior”.

 “Salvation” is the broadening, enlarging, creating a space in the community for life and conduct’; or the way of Jesus in which God restores our wholeness; our faith in God; the new consciousness that Father, Son and Holy Spirit have promised us.  Salvation comes only through his grace, and his tender heartfelt mercies. Salvation exceeds human ability to grasp it.

In verse 79, who are “those in darkness sitting in the shadow of death” that God’s light shines on?  In Henri Nouwen’s book, The Road to Peace:  Writings on Peace and Justice, there is a “connection between intimacy with Christ and solidarity with the wounded world.”  Nouwen speaks about The March on Selma in 1965, the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., the spirit among the oppressed poor of Latin America, the legacies of Oscar Romero, Thomas Merton, and lessons of the heart learned among his handicapped friends of L’Arche.  It is a message about Christ’s discipleship.  Nouwen calls activists to be peacemakers in the fullest sense:  to root their witness in prayer, joy, and the spirit of love.

The Good Tidings or Good News is that we may have intimacy with Christ when we include solidarity with the wounded world in our lives.

Jesus, our Savior, show us the way, one foot at a time, down the Road to Peace.  Amen

Myrna Diven