“(Zechariah and Elizabeth)had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years…the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” St. Luke 1: 7 & 13
COLLECT OF THE DAY
Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
READINGS: Isaiah 40:1-5 Psalm 85:(1-6) 7-13 Acts 13:13-26 St. Luke 1:57-80
Bio: St. John the Baptizer, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was born into a priestly family. His birth was miraculously announced to his father by an angel of the Lord (Luke 1: 5-23), and on the occasion of his birth, his aged father proclaimed a hymn of praise (Luke 1:67-79). This hymn is entitled the Benedictus and serves as the traditional Gospel Canticle in the Church’s Service of Morning Prayer. Events of John’s life and his teaching are known from accounts in all four of the Gospels. In the wilderness of Judea, near the Jordan River, John began to preach a call to repentance and a baptismal washing, and he told the crowds, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John denounced the immoral life of the Herodian rulers, with the result that Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, had him arrested and imprisoned in the huge fortress of Machaerus near the Dead Sea. There Herod had him beheaded (Mark 6:17-29). John is remembered and honored as the one who with his preaching pointed to “the Lamb of God” and “prepared the way” for the coming of the Messiah. (The Treasury of Daily Prayer, CPH)
“And immediately (Zechariah’s) mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.” St. Luke 1: 64)
If not mistaken, the narrative of the birth (nativity) of John the Baptist is the only other birth narrative, besides the Lord’s, which is recorded in the New Testament. This shows John was crucial in the Lord’s plan of salvation. What we see happen to John will happen to Jesus.
Every morning the Church sings Zechariah’s song of thanksgiving, the Benedictus (“Blessed”). The Benedictus has two parts, verses 68-75 which are singing of the Lord’s Incarnation in the blessed womb of His Mother, the Virgin Mary (St. Luke 1: 26-38) and beginning at 1: 76, singing of the prophetic ministry of Zechariah’s son, John as forerunner who will prepare the way of the Lord.
Zechariah, who could not speak because he disbelieved the angel’s word to him, now his mouth is opened and his tongue loosed and he sings the Benedictus. Psalm 51: 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. An open mouth and a loosed tongue are crucial that as John, we also by our prayers and praises, holy conversation and care, prepare the Way of Christ for others so He can make faith in our neighbors and be saved. The Benedictus, as our morning prayer, is crucial as we begin the day.
The goal here is a “loosed tongue”, not a “loose tongue”. A loose tongue is the scourge of the Old Adam leaving no thought unsaid these days in conversation both real and virtual. Like the old WWII saying had it right for all times: Loose lips sink ships. The tongue is so difficult to control (see James 3: 8). We can not tame it. It does countless damage 24/7. A loosed tongue is a freed tongue not to sing our praises but Him has given us, “…knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins (St. Luke 1: 77)…and not only loose tongues but loose thumbs. The more we give into saying whatever the heck I want to say, is not freedom, but enslavement to sin. The Lord has forgiven us and Zechariah. Nowadays a “loose tongue” can causes problems, but is generally considered by the world as perverse bravery to say whatever and however the speech is profane and dirty; but a “loosed tongue”, singing God’s praises and sharing His Word and speaking the truth in love, can cause even martyrdom as it did for John. Herod Antipas, who had John decapitated, had a loose tongue and caused such carnage. John speaking and living freely God’s Word, a loosed tongue, gave so many life in the Name of Jesus. In deed:
3Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies! (Psalm 141)
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
We praise You for the Baptist,
Forerunner of the Word,
Our true Elijah making
A highway for the Lord.
The last and greatest prophet,
He saw the dawning ray
Of light that grows in splendor
Until the perfect day.
(Lutheran Service Book, #518, By All Your Saints in Warfare, stanza 18
Concordia and Koinonia 