Images in Contrast: From Judgment to Mercy, Darkness to Light, War to Peace

The Benedictus or Song of Zechariah (Lk. 1.68-79) was the replacement for the Psalm reading or Psalter last Sunday, “Christ the King” Sunday. United Methodists follow a recommended ecumenical lectionary reading as do Episcopalians, Lutherans, and United/Uniting/Union denominations.

At Advent and Christmas time, the same is possibly used as a reading among Advent Night or Dawn Watch worship events, popularly called Simbang Gabi in the Philippines.

The song tells of the restoration of God’s people and the downfall of their enemies. It is initially cloaked in the old scriptural language of forcible overthrow of enemies:

“…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.” (Lk.1.70-75)

But it proceeds later to say, “…Give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins” (1.77). Then it goes further to say this imagery of salvation contrasting darkness going to light and the force of war contrasted to the way of peace:

“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.” (1.78-79)

The same savior who is the object of praise in this song is the same Christ Jesus who dies on the cross. He does not beg the Father to use his heavenly hosts against those who have put him up at Calvary to die as a spectacle to those under the empire of force. Jesus instead prays for forgiveness to their actions (23.34).

Make no mistake, though….While Luke describes the gospel as one of repentance and forgiveness (24.47=1.77), the sense of justice and restoration for his people creates many stories of reversing the place of the powerful and strong (1.51-53) or the proud and arrogant (18.14) or the privileged and affluent (18.23-25=6.24) or the full and abundant (6.25=16.22-25) who ignore the needy and the lowly among those he has called to be his own.

Filipinos cannot move to correct severe weather changes by themselves. The top industrial nations must be willing to do the bigger share for their carbon outputs are the more substantial as ongoing climate change factors than the Philippines ever can.

The human challenge against his environment is the hardest struggle to face, especially when humans are the cause of unwanted circumstances of climate change. Pray God takes this up against the big nations!