Stroll through Scripture for Dec. 24, 2023

Reading for Luke 1:5–13, 57–80

This is the assigned reading for the fourth Sunday of Advent, which also coincides with Christmas Eve. Later in the evening we’ll hear Luke 2:1–20, which gives us the traditional birth narrative including angels making the proclamation to shepherds out in the field about Jesus being born in Bethlehem in poverty. Everything about the story flips what is expected on its head. We have a baby who is king who has titles that are attributed to Caesar, the king, military leader, and high priest of the Roman empire and the Roman pagan religious faith. We have a savior born in squalor among animals and a lack of resources in contrast to a “savior” who ruled the known world in Rome — again Romans attributed this title to Caesar since it was he who brought about the Pax Romana — the peace of Rome, which came through military conquest and subjugation. The two could not be further apart. We have the proclamation being given to shepherds out in the fields, not a grand parade with trumpets and soldiers and enslaved enemies who were defeated and on display for mocking before the crowds in the capitol of the empire.

Sunday morning’s Gospel reading is part of the set up to prepare us for this stark contrast. We hear about Zechariah and is wife Elizabeth. The passage goes out of its way to show their lineage, just so we know they are legitimate. We hear about Elizabeth’s barrenness in her old age, making a clear connection to the story of Sarah and her barrenness in her old age. The child she will…