1. Albrecht…Advent 1…Nov. 30^th, 2025…Luke 1:67-79…Zechariah’s Song: Amazing Gift

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people ⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, ⁷⁰ as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, ⁷¹ that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; ⁷² to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴ that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. ⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high ⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Grace and Advent Peace be yours from God our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He sent into the world, Amen.

INJ is the Gift sent from heaven to be a blessing for the whole world, DFR:

We have entered the time of year where our world is bombarded with singing – perhaps more than any other time in the year. Most of that singing is about the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the only time of the year when we have the license to carry the message of Jesus to a secular, pluralistic world.

You can go into a shopping mall and hear, even unbelievers, singing Silent Night. Shops and restaurants and other public places may include more religious songs along with the popular songs about Santa and reindeer. Radio stations pause their normal playlists to run Christmas Carols; and it is the time of year when one might say to their friends, “Let’s go carol at strangers’ houses!” All this music and singing takes place during the season of Advent.

When we examine the events leading up to the birth of Christ, we see that indeed it was, and still is, a time for singing. Luke records for us four beautiful songs about the birth of God’s Son. The first we will consider is Zechariah’s song which details the Amazing Gift of God coming to visit His people in the birth of Jesus Christ.

In the verses leading up to our text this morning, Luke tells us about the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. Zechariah and Elizabeth were unable to have any children, as she was barren and they were now well advanced in years. Nonetheless, the angel told Zechariah it would be so with explicit instructions to name him John. God silenced Zechariah’s mouth because of his doubting of God’s message, until the day when the baby boy was to be named.

As soon as Zechariah confessed his faith in the Lord and obeyed the Lord’s command by naming the baby John, his mouth was released and began to praise God with his whole being.

Zechariah and Elizabeth marvel that their son would prepare the way for the promised Messiah. Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and we have recorded for us his song of praise and prophecy. The song of Zechariah may well be called, Amazing Gift. In the words of his song, we shall see just how amazing of a gift the birth of God’s Son is for us, God’s people.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.

We celebrate with Zechariah that the Lord is faithful to His people and He does not forget them. The Lord made a promise to send a Savior and He fulfilled it. He established a covenant and He maintained it. God swore an oath and He kept it. God’s salvation plan had been at work for thousands of years. All the way back to the days when Adam and Eve fell into sin. God could have wiped them from the face of the earth and started over. Instead, He promised to send a Savior to bring humanity back into fellowship with Himself. The Savior would crush the power of Satan and bring life to His people. This fulfillment is celebrated in the birth of Jesus.

It is said that Henry David Thoreau once spent an entire day at a pond, up to his neck in water. His idea was to see and experience the world as a frog sees it. Needless to say, Thoreau never became a frog. The miracle of the incarnation is that God visited us! If God wanted to communicate with and saved dogs, He would have become a dog. If He had wanted to save birds, He would have become a bird. The amazing thing about this Gift from God that Zechariah sings about is that God came for us – people like you and me. God laid aside His celestial robes to don the simple raiment of a man. Divinity clothed itself with dust. God visited us.

What would the birth of God’s Son bring? ⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us. The horn is used in Scripture as a symbol of strength and victory. Though Jesus would be born a baby in Bethlehem, He would grow up for one purpose: to die on the cross for our sin and rise again to give us the victory. The strength of Christ’s victory over sin and death is real, and it is the gift He gives to us this Advent season. In the midst of the world’s hopelessness and helplessness, Christ brings strength and Salvation. This season, God comes to visit us when we hear His Word and receive His sacrament. Through God’s visitation, our faith is made firm! His strength is our strength. The amazing Gift of God comes to visit us as God’s people to assure us of His salvation.

In just three weeks’ time, we will spend 1/3 of the day in darkness. Even now, we spend about half the day in darkness. This area of the country is well-known for its seasonal depression. Many other places, though they too have few hours of daylight during the winter months, at least see the sun on a fairly regular basis. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the clouds are thick and low and natural light is a premium. The winter months remind us, we need light!

Zechariah’s song reminds us of another blessing that comes from this Amazing Gift from God: To bring us what we need – light. Zechariah would remind us of God’s tender mercy which he likens to the rising of the sun.  The Gift of God will shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. The Apostle John writes, In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

We know about the darkness that results from sin and its effect in our lives. This time of year, perhaps more than at other times, our lives are filled with stress, worry, guilt, and fear. The Christmas season is all about everything being “perfect;” to make it up to the people we have wronged in the past. It sets up a false expectation of what Christmas is about. We attempt to find the perfect gift, throw the perfect holiday party, invite the right people, cook the right food, plan to see all the right relatives – everything we need to do to have a happy holiday season.

Yet, in the end, our lives can still be dark without the One who comes to fill us with the light and love of God. Jesus Christ comes to dispel the darkness of sin and give us the light of His mercy. Zechariah’s song reminds us of God’s light in Christ, who shines into the dark places of our heart this Advent season. He exposes the darkness of our sinfulness and purifies us with His forgiveness. As when you shine a flashlight into a dark room – when light hits the darkness, darkness is no more.

Many families will have their children write letters to Santa before Christmas. Once, there was a little boy named Jimmy who wrote, “Dear Santa, you didn’t bring me anything good last year. And I don’t remember anything good the year before either. This will be your last chance. Signed Jimmy.”

This Amazing Gift that Zechariah sings about reminds us that God comes to bring us something wonderful. He comes to shine on our darkness and give us the light of His salvation. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Without Christ, we are living in the dark! With Him, we have the light of His life and forgiveness, which He won for us by His death and resurrection.

This Amazing Gift that brings light and life doesn’t just shine in your life once and disappear, it also becomes a guide for us in our daily lives. Zechariah sings about how this Gift will guide our feet into the way of peace.

The amazing thing about God becoming one of us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, is that He faced the same temptations and times of testing that we have in our lives. But there is an important difference. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it, we do not have a High Priest, Jesus who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but Who (Jesus) was tempted in every way we are, yet without sin. As the sinless Son of God, Jesus walked a path of righteousness for you. By His life for you on the cross, He won for you redemption from sin, Satan, and death itself. He has become the power source for your life – your daily life. Being baptized into His name assures you that daily, the old Adam is drowned so that the new life can come forth and live in God’s renewed strength and power.

Imagine what our lives would be without Christ as our guide. If you’ve ever had to get up in the middle of the night, you might know what it is like to be temporarily blinded. Your eyes have to adjust to the amount of light in the room and so, even if you think you know where you are going, you bump into everything. It isn’t until you can see clearly, that you can navigate without trouble.

Sin blinds us to the path God would have us take. Yet, Christ in His mercy, lights a path for us. When we are discouraged our depressed, Christ fills us with His love. He directs our attention to His Word where we have a clear path and purpose laid out for us. His grace keeps our hearts focused on the importance of the Advent and Christmas season – both what Christ has done for us and the joy and peace we can offer to those around us.

Zechariah’s song reminds us that the Amazing Gift came to bring a pathway of peace. Not the kind of peace that removes all conflicts between nations, or strife between family, but the kind of peace that only the Prince of Peace can provide: Peace with God. Fellowship and harmony with Him because of our Savior’s ransom payment for our sin. That makes all the difference in our lives. With Christ, the light, as our guide, God offers a pathway for peace first with Him, then with those you love.

During these weeks leading up to the celebrations of our Savior’s birth, we will be hearing, humming, and singing familiar songs about the Savior who has come and is coming again. What an amazing song we have recorded for us from the heart of Zechariah. May this song take root in our hearts this Advent as we praise God for sending His Amazing Gift: The Gift that comes to visit His people with life and salvation. The Gift that comes to shine His light in our sin-darkened world. The Gift that comes to guide our feet in His peace. Amen.