Peace, Light, and Joy in Advent

Peace. Light. Joy. The mercy of God.

These are ideas that we associate with the Advent season. Why is it that we focus on these particular ideas when we ponder the birth of Jesus? Partly, it is because that is what Christians have been doing since the earliest Christian writings.

Luke’s Gospel gives us a lot of our information about the birth of Jesus. It also includes four songs sung by different individuals around the time of his birth. These songs collectively point us to ponder these meaningful words: peace, light, and joy. And to see these all as part of the limitless mercy of God.

For our reflection this morning, I’ll just read a few excerpts from each of the four songs.

The angels announced PEACE:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (Luke 2:14)

Simeon experienced PEACE and saw the LIGHT:

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

    according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles

    and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)

Mary knew JOY in response to God’s MERCY:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47)

“His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50)

“He has . . . lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, . . .
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.” (Luke 1:52-54)

Zechariah put this all together:

“By the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 2:78-79)

God of Mercy: We ask today for the joy exhibited by Mary, the peace declared by the angels, the light foretold by Zechariah, all of which point us to the tender mercy of our God. Amen.

The Unique Contributions of Luke's Gospel

Today is the feast day of St. Luke and thus a fitting day to recognize some of the remarkable contributions of Luke’s Gospel to our understanding of Jesus and his message.

First, as is well known, the Gospel of Luke has a clear emphasis on the good news being for the poor, the sick, and those on the margins of society: the gospel is “good news” for all people, not just those who outwardly appear to be favored by God. (See Luke 4:16-21)

Second, Luke alone includes some of the best known parables of Jesus. Without Luke we would not know of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) or the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The parable of the Good Samaritan is itself a powerful illustration of mercy and compassion for those in need, and a reminder that all people are our neighbors. It thus ties in directly with the first point above about Luke’s emphasis on the good news being for all people.

Third, Luke preserves some very early songs from the first century. These are particularly to be found in the birth narrative. In the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke, four different characters respond to news of God’s salvation with joyful song that sounds very much like the psalmody of the Jewish Scriptures and the words of the prophets. Like characters in biblical narratives and other Jewish texts, they respond to good news with a psalm of praise. These four psalms are commonly referred to by their Latin names. Mary’s song is the Magnificat (1:46–55), Zechariah’s is the Benedictus (1:68–79), the angels’ song of praise is the Gloria in excelsis (2:14), and Simeon’s is the Nunc Dimittis (2:29–32). By quoting these four songs or parts of songs, Luke has preserved for us a rich treasure and gives us a glimpse into some of the earliest ways in which the advent of Jesus was celebrated through song and poetry in the early church.

For our vision of Jesus and the events and significance of his life, we owe much to Luke and his careful historical and literary work. We also can be thankful today that he had an ear for songs and hymns, and that he chose to include them in his Gospel for the benefit of all of his readers.

For more on Luke, see this reflection from the FaithND website.

For more specifically on the hymns in Luke's Gospel, see chapter six of my latest book.