The one awaited by all nations

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets in ancient times; salvation from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us. He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant— the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant that we, having been rescued from the hand of our enemies, would serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days. And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1: 67-79)

Normally, it is parents who guide their children. With John, thanks to his conception and birth, it is the child who guides his parents to salvation. Zechariah and Elizabeth let themselves be guided by God's Will and, hence, their son will be the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first of the New Testament to announce and recognise the one awaited by all nations, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let us also be guided daily by the Holy Spirit to do God's Will.