12/24/2012 – Monday of 4th week of Advent – Luke 1:67-79

        Today, on the morning of Christmas eve, we hear the canticle of Zechariah, proclaimed by the father of John the Baptist at the birth of his child after being mute for a long period of time as a punishment from God for Zechariah's unbelief.  As a priest in the Catholic Church, every day I pray the Canticle of Zechariah that we hear in today’s Gospel reading as part of the morning prayer in the liturgy of the hours. 

         What a wonderful, liberating message we have in this canticle: being set free, being shown mercy, keeping our continued covenant with God, being freed from our enemies, being blessed with the power of forgiveness, and receiving a future of peace.  The themes of being set free and being freed from our enemies are emphasized by Zechariah; what a powerful message this is for us today.  I remember telling the high school students I taught at Greenville High School how I was robbed by a group of thieves on a busy city street while I was a missionary in Ecuador, with a knife held up to my throat.  My students were horrified when I told them that I did not seek revenge against these robbers, nor did I hold a grudge or anger for that incident.  This incident is a good example of how being set free in terms of our Catholic faith, of forgiving, of being forgiven, of letting go of anger and resentment, can seem so strange to those who adhere to the secular mentality of our modern world.  Some of our political leaders even use the word “revenge” in the way they speak, to the point of them wanting to get revenge against certain citizens of our own country.  I wonder when this cycle of revenge is going to stop, and even wonder if we Christians will be subject to attacks of “revenge” against our beliefs and the way we live out our faith.

In light of the canticle of Zechariah, we need to ask ourselves who we see as our enemies in our society, who are those humans, those structures of society, those events, & those behaviors that are the enemies in our lives?  Who & what do we see as these enemies?  How do we need to be set free from them?  What do we need to change in our lives?

         Zechariah asks that we be free to worship God without fear, holy & righteous in his sight, all the days of our lives.  Let us pray that we be free to celebrate the birth of Jesus in our Christmas eve & Christmas day celebrations, that our faithfulness & worship of God may guide us into a way of peace that truly sets us free.