In today's gospel, Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, gets his turn to prophesy. His tongue loosed after the naming of John, he utters what is sometimes called the Song of Zechariah, speaking of a Savior, of God's favor that rescues. And all this happens because God "has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham."In a way, it all comes down to this. Sometimes, when the world seems to be going to pot, it is not so hard to imagine that God has forgotten us, that we are on our own, and whatever happens for good or ill is all up to us. But the biblical story insists that God does not forget. And it insists that God is faithful to God's promises.
I've always thought that the church gets carried away with Christmas, guided more by the culture's fascination with this holiday than by any real religious import. But there is a sense in which Christmas is a confirmation of God's memory, of God's faithfulness. And that certainly is worth celebrating.
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