It was a few short weeks ago when we observed the festival of the Baptism of our Lord. It is always a temptation to want to focus on and bring to mind our own Baptisms — and even better if there is a Baptism in our congregation that day. But preachers will do well to point out that it is the festival of the Baptism of our Lord! We hear about the Baptism of Jesus in the midst of the season of Epiphany, which means “manifestation.” Each Sunday during this season manifests, reveals something to us about who this Jesus is who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And what is revealed in the passage above in Luke’s Gospel?

Those of us who follow the liturgical calendar in worship are used to hearing this passage about John the Baptizer in Advent. Usually, two Sundays in Advent are dedicated to hearing about John and his call to “Prepare the way of the Lord…” It fits well in our time of preparation for Christmas and our annual celebration of Christ’s birth.

Because we heard the account of Jesus, twelve years old in the temple, just a few weeks ago in Sunday worship, we have not included that passage here. Rather, we are focusing today on Jesus and Simeon in the temple.

We return to the words of the prophet Micah today, as we hear his message foretelling hope and restoration. In the verse just before (3:12), Micah had warned that Zion would be “plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.” This is the law and judgement which would come upon Israel and Judah.

It is unfortunate that most translations rightly introduce passages such as this with “Zechariah prophesied, saying…” while many scholars and historic tradition understands this as being something of a poetic verse chanted or sung by Zechariah. This is true also of Mary’s song, the Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55. Singing and chanting was common in Israel as they were a musical people.

While our readings from Luke’s Gospel deserve our attention in these devotions, the readings from Micah are worthy of mention. Micah and Isaiah lived at the same time and were called to deliver a similar message. No wonder, as Israel and Judah were in a time of great idolatry and disobedience.

Having recently participated in the NALC Life Ministries 2020 Conference, along with activities related to the annual March for Life on the national mall in Washington, D.C., it seems our respect for and celebration of life in the womb continues. And rightly so. It should never be dismissed or diminished how often God is at work in the womb. The first reading for the service of Holy Communion at the Life Ministries Conference (and for Epiphany II) included this verse, “The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name” (Isaiah 49:1). The point of this passage in Isaiah, and the interaction between John and Jesus, still in their mother’s wombs is this — God has a purpose and a plan for each of us!

We are so familiar with the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, that it can sometimes fail to impress us. If you can, consider this account from the perspective of one who has never heard it and is not a Christian. An angel comes to earth to bring a message from God — not to a king or ruler, but to a humble virgin. The promise is that she would conceive a child outside the normal biological processes which God Himself created — the child’s birth would be supernatural.