A Song of Hope and a Cry for Justice

A Song of Hope and a Cry for Justice

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

   for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a mighty saviour for us

   in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,

   and has remembered his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,

might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness

   before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

   by the forgiveness of their sins.

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.’

Luke 1:67-79

I have watched too much news lately. 

The more news I watch, the harder it is to hope.

In particular, the bitter and horrifying conflict going on in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon stands like a symbol for much else that is happening in the world. We see a place referred to as ‘the Holy Lands’ gripped in an unholy cycle of intractable violence and hatred. As I watch each new depredation, I wonder, where will the hope come from?

In today’s passage, a man – a priest, no less – who had been struck dumb by doubt and despair (Lk 1:18- 20) receives a touch of the Holy Spirit, and his tongue is released into a joyous song of hope, which is simultaneously a cry for justice.

The Jewish people at this time are a people groaning under oppression. They are an occupied territory being squeezed by the Romans, and being fleeced by their own leaders. Indeed, for centuries Zechariah’s people have been, and will continue to be for centuries more, one of the most long-suffering people’s on earth.

If we invert Zechariah’s song of hope, we can see the shape of the cry that has gripped his heart. He yearns for liberation from subjugation, and he yearns for the promises made to Abraham, David and the prophets, that somehow, through Israel, will come a blessing to all the families of the earth (Gen 12:1-3) and a king who will finally bring peace and rule with justice (Isa 9:1-7).

Incredibly, Zechariah’s song announces that the hope he yearns for has come. The birth of his own child, John, prepares the way for another child who guides people into the way of peace. And at the heart of this great work is salvation via the forgiveness of sins (Lk 1:77).

If the cycle of violence and oppression is to somehow end, there must be forgiveness. When there has been so much suffering and injustice, this can seem like one of the hardest things in the world. But without it, the oppressed are in danger of one day turning into oppressors, as events in modern day Israel so painfully demonstrate.

Jesus comes to break the cycle of retribution. In the Lord’s Prayer, he teaches us to face our own wrongdoing and to let go of the wrongdoing of others. God forgives us, but we must forgive each other (Lk 11:4). In the beatitudes, the promise ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right’ is immediately followed by the promise ‘Blessed are the merciful’ (Matt 5:6-7). There can be no true justice without mercy. Jesus will enact this economy of forgiveness in his own unjust death. Then, at the very end of Luke’s gospel, he will send out his followers to proclaim ‘repentance and forgiveness of sins’ to all nations (Lk 24:47).

As I watch the news, I can only give my heart’s cry for God’s justice to flow. But Zechariah’s song points me to one who calls me to end the cycle of retribution in my own life. Liberation begins here, one heart at a time.

Jonathan Cornford is co-founder of Manna Gum, a ministry that seeks to reclaim the Bible's teaching on economy and ecology. Jonathan lives in Bendigo, Victoria, with his wife Kim and two daughters, where they are members of the Seeds Community.

This devotional is part of a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2024 reflecting on the life-giving, thirst quenching justice of Jesus we long to see flow across these lands. A justice overflowing with love and compassion, bringing forth hope, healing, nourishment and flourishing for all.

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