An Advent Reflection by The Revd Dr David Campbell Senior Chaplain of Sherborne School.
Read
Luke 1:5-7 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
Reflect
Elizabeth and Zechariah stood in a proud lineage of faith. Their ancestors were among the leaders of Yahweh’s people in their own day, complete with all the struggles, heartbreak, loss and triumphs for the divine covenant which such leadership entailed. And now they had themselves grown old, while living out that covenant of human faithfulness to the Law and standing in the shadows of the great prophets of Israel who had gone before them. And suddenly there was the possibility of a new thing happening, a new beginning, a holy dawn, a divinely disruptive force in their own lives and in the lives of those closest to them. From these two, and these as good as dead, a new great voice would arise in Israel. A voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.
Pray
For the grace to follow the Lord faithfully based on the traditions of our ancestors and to be open to the possibilities of something new taking place in our own lives.
Act
What new thing can you envisage and begin in your own life or in the lives of those with whom you are most closely associated? How might this make a positive difference to those people around you?
-The Revd Dr David Campbell Senior Chaplain of Sherborne School
You can read all of the Advent Reflections via the following link – Advent Reflections 2019.