By the Tender Mercy of our God

In the Gospel of Luke (chapter 1:78), we read these beautiful words spoken by Zechariah:

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.”

This is a prophecy of the coming of Christ… that he would give light to those who sit in darkness, and… guide our feet into the way of peace.

What does it mean to be guided into the way of peace? 

When I think about peace right now, I can’t help but think about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So many lives lost, so much destruction. But then, even closer to home, even in our own communities we see so much anger. There continues to be a rage boiling over and people are forgetting – not only common courtesy but human decency. 

What does it mean to be guided into the way of peace within our own hearts and communities? 

Sometime back in a Wednesday night class, we learned that Martin Luther King Jr. had a simple “rule of life” that he lived by. There were ten things on his list. One of them was, “Refrain from violence of fist, tongue, or heart.” I like that… Jesus once observed that it is what’s in the heart that leads us to act… King also promised himself to: “Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.”

I am reminded of how our faith both blesses us and summons us… It calls out the better side of our humanity. It calls us to move beyond ourselves. Again and again, the Bible tells us: think about the other, the stranger, the outsider…  

Our faith summons us not only to receive peace and blessing but to be a blessing and to bring peace.

In this holy season of Advent, I pray that Christ would indeed guide us in the way of peace. May his peace come upon us, and work in us, and even through us.

Let us pray: Holy God, You came as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. As we have been blessed, so too may we be a blessing. Work first in our hearts, and then in our lives that your will may be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. In Christ’s name. Amen.