The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah the priest, who was on duty in the inner temple, to tell Zechariah that his prayers had been heard and that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son in their old age; and after all those prayers and all those years, Zechariah was not sure he believed it (Luke 1:5-18). His punishment for his lack of faith was to be struck mute till the birth of the baby; when he came out from the sanctuary, all the people in the outer court were amazed, recognizing that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary (1:20-22).

Nine months later when the baby was born, Zechariah’s punishment was lifted and he began to praise God (1:64). I sometimes wonder, if I were unable to speak for so long, what the first words out of my mouth would be. And Zechariah uttered a prophecy over his son (who would grow up to be John the Baptist): “You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” (1:76).

Preparing the way of the Lord will turn out to include several specifics: John will give “knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins” (1:77), and he will “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (1:79).

I like the balance in this prophecy. It includes salvation in terms of the forgiveness of our sins. It includes hope for us who live under the shadow of death. And it includes guidance, teaching us to walk the path of peace.

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That’s what we need, Lord: so we pray that in this day as well, you would guide our feet on the road of peace; we pray for your grace to forgive our sins; and we pray that you would give us hope in eternal life, as we face the shadow of death.