Luke 1:36-37
36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Friday, December 5 - Week of Hope
While Mary received the news about bearing God into the world, her cousin Elizabeth was also experiencing new life. These two babies, born to women at different ends of the spectrum of life, would grow up to be people who would usher in a new thing that God brought to the world.
Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John occupy a necessary part of the story of Christ’s birth. As a priest, Zechariah sought to represent God and help people connect with their creator. As an unorthodox priest, John was literally the voice crying out in the wilderness, calling people to a season of repentance in preparation for the Messiah. Jesus is the one who shows us the true path to new life. John would call people to this new life and baptize them in the waters that brought life to the earth.
John’s call should resound in our hearts on this day. His voice called for repentance and change, only to declare that he should be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. However, Jesus pursued what it meant to be fully God and fully Human, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Prayer: Lord of life, help us to repent when we must turn away from the things we pursue that do not lead to you. Amen.
