Anticipating the Coming of the Saviour

若翰的父親匝加利亞充滿了聖神，遂預言說：「上主，以色列的天主應受讚美，因他眷顧救贖了自己的民族，並在自己的僕人達味家中，為我們興起了大能的救主。正如他藉歷代諸聖先知的口所說過的，拯救我們脫離敵人和仇恨我們者的手。他向我們的祖先施行仁慈，記憶起他自己的神聖盟約，就是他向我們的祖先亞巴郎所宣述的誓詞，恩賜我們從敵人手中被救出以後，無怨無懼，一生一世在他的面前，以聖善和正義事奉他。至於你，小孩，你要稱為至高者的先知，因你要走在上主前面，為他預備道路，為使他的百姓認識救恩，以獲得他們罪惡的寬宥：這是出於我們天主的慈懷，使旭日由高天向我們照耀，為光照那坐在黑暗和死影中的人，並引我們的腳步，走向和平的道路。」
路加福音 1:67-79

匝加利亞這段讚美天主的頌詞，可算是在眾人前為他兒子若翰的身份和救主的來臨揭開了序幕。他論及天主如何眷顧和拯救了以色列民族，也曾向他們的祖先亞巴郎許下救恩；這被期待已久的默西亞，將要在他兒子這一代人中出現，而他預言若翰「要稱為至高者的先知」，並「走在上主前面，為祂預備道路，為使祂的百姓認識救恩，以獲得他們罪惡的寬宥」。

這「至高者」正是天主；出於祂的仁慈，耶穌基督來到世上「光照那坐在黑暗和死影中的人，並引我們的腳步，走向和平的道路」。我們在過去一年當中，有一直跟著祂走嗎？

明天就是記念耶穌基督降生成人的日子，讓我們用心反省，祂的來臨對我們來說有甚麼意義和訊息？為身邊未信主的人，我們又有沒有盡基督徒的責任，讓他們明白聖誕的真正意義？

這篇默想由生命恩泉文摘編輯小組撰寫，內容以下列文章為根據:
Commentaries on the daily readings by Sacred Space
彌撒福音釋義

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:67-79

In this song of praise inspired by the Holy Spirit that came out of Zechariah's mouth, a few things were reminded and revealed: the Lord's covenant with their ancestors and the prophecy of the coming of a saviour were reminded; and the role of his son John is being revealed. Zechariah prophesied that his son John “shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for [he] will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.”

God being the “Most High”, has shown His mercy for all humanity through Jesus. Jesus is the light that “shine[s] on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) Looking back at what we've done this past year, have we truly been following Him?

Tomorrow is the day we celebrate Jesus' birth. Let us once again reflect what does His coming mean to us, and what is His message for us this year? How can we be better disciples? And to those who are still unbelievers, have we tried our best to bring the real meaning of Christmas to them?

This reflection is prepared by the FLL Inspire editorial team as a digest of the following articles:
Commentaries on the daily readings by Sacred Space
彌撒福音釋義

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