Our Lenten journey

Zacharias was a priest serving in the temple prior to

Jesus birth. (Luke 1). He happened to be the father of John the Baptist, who prepared the way of the Lord. Zacharias failed to believe the prophecy of the angel sent to him foretelling the birth of his son, John, and so his voice was taken from him until his child was born. Imagine a preacher or priest losing his voice for nine months. Try to imagine not having that ability whoever you may be in life.

Nine months later when his son John was born Zacharias was able to talk again. He sang one of the most beautiful anthems in all of Scripture: in Latin it is called the Benedictus. Without hesitation Zacharias exclaimed that

Christ (John the Baptist’s cousin by human lineage) would deliver and redeem His people. All people are unable to deliver themselves. All people are unable to redeem themselves. We are all under the same cloud of sin’s bondage. We are shackled by our fears, our worries about tomorrow, our ruined past, our loneliness, our greed and jealousies. None can stand before an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God in himself or herself. Man at his best stands condemned before God. As beggars God did not leave us forsaken.

God sent a Savior whom John and His father helped proclaim. This Savior is for you, wrapped in his innocence and righteousness, a gift for you. This Savior is for you from crib to cross. This Savior remembers your sins no more and casts them as far as the east is from the west. This Savior adored the Father in your place, died in your place, and rose in your place. So, we adore Him remembering His first coming in humility and His second in glory.

See you Sunday.