In what ways are the first couple of salvation history (Abraham and Sarah) like the first couple of the New Testament (Zechariah and Elizabeth)?25
Remembering the Covenant of Old
Lectio
Kiss the words of the biblical text and ask God to let the inspired words speak powerfully to your spirit today.
LUKE 1:57–75
57Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
67Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
After carefully listening to this Gospel narrative, continue exploring its meaning in light of the new covenant.
The Gospel according to Luke proclaims that God has remembered his covenant and has kept the promises he made long ago to Abraham. In Jesus, a new period of God’s saving plan has begun. This new age of salvation in Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of what God had in mind from ages past, the completion of a pattern God had begun in Abraham almost two thousand years before. What had begun with one person in Abraham was destined to be experienced by all people as the gospel spreads to the east, west, north, and south and breaks down barriers that divide people—Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, man and woman, mighty and humble.
The canticle of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, is a programmatic prophecy (vv. 67–75). It is a summary of what God is about to do through the coming of Jesus into the world, and it guides the readers’ understanding through the narrative that follows. The prophecy draws heavily from Old Testament texts and prophetic allusions to indicate the continuity of God’s plan throughout the generations.
It is significant that the covenant of God with Abraham, “the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham” (v. 73), is more fundamental than the covenant with Moses. For Luke, the first Christians are the “descendants of Abraham,” through whom the blessings are delivered. Luke makes this clear in his writings in Acts by quoting from the speech of Peter to the believers in Jerusalem: “You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Acts 3:25).
The occasion of Zechariah’s canticle is the circumcision of his son John on the eighth day after his birth (v. 59). How fitting for Zechariah to celebrate “the oath that [God] swore to our ancestor Abraham” (v. 73) at that event! God had first revealed the sign of circumcision to Abraham, who performed the ritual on his sons. The infant John, who would be the prophet called to announce the arrival of the Messiah, was initiated into the ancient faith of Israel and would live his whole life in dedication to that covenant.
The elderly Zechariah and Elizabeth, like their ancestors Abraham and Sarah from so long before, had been living their later life in hopelessness because of their childless state. Yet they were miraculously blessed by God with a child. Again “the Lord God of Israel” has “looked favorably on his people” (v. 68). What God had done at the beginning of salvation history in Abraham and Sarah was now unfolding again as a new age began.
The other programmatic prophecy of Luke’s first chapter is Mary’s canticle. The Gospel of Luke is about how God reverses destinies: bringing down the powerful and lifting the lowly, filling the hungry with blessings and sending the rich away empty. All of this is “according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever” (v. 55).
After listening to the Gospel text with the ears of your heart, answer this question:
In what ways are the first couple of salvation history (Abraham and Sarah) like the first couple of the New Testament (Zechariah and Elizabeth)?
Meditatio
Imagine what you would see, hear, smell, taste, and feel in this Gospel scene. Place yourself within the scene and ponder its significance for the characters involved.
How does the canticle of Zechariah indicate the continuity of God’s saving plan, from Abraham to the coming of Christ?
What is God demonstrating in bringing fertility and birth to elderly and barren couples? In what ways am I barren and in need of new birth?
How does Luke indicate that the first Christians are the descendants of Abraham and heirs of God’s covenant with Abraham? In what way am I included in Luke’s understanding of God’s plan?
Oratio
Recite or chant the words of the canticle as an offering to God.
Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel. You have looked with favor on your people and proven yourself faithful to your covenant of old. You raised up a mighty Savior for us in your Son Jesus. May I serve you in holiness and righteousness all my days.
Continue to pray in whatever words arise from your own heart . . .
Contemplatio
Choose a word or phrase from Zechariah’s canticle to help you continue to focus on God’s presence with you. Realize that your own life is part of God’s grand narrative, extending from Abraham to the glorious end of time.
After your time of quiet, choose a few words that express the fruits of your silent contemplation.
Operatio
Zechariah’s life was transformed through the Word of God delivered to him. In what way am I being formed and changed through this Gospel text?