The Canticle of Zechariah (Lk. 1:67-79)

Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:  68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.  69 He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, 70 even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old: 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant 73 and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that, 74 rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us 79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”'

Luke continued his theological theme of God’s fidelity to His promise.  He joined together two Jewish Christian hymns (vv. 68-75 & 76-79) to form this canticle about how God dealt with and will deal with the elect.  It tells of how God acts and what he is inaugurating in Jesus to redeem His people who in this case are the Israelites.  

Luke reintroduced the theme of the coming Davidic Messiah foretold by the prophets (Lk. 1:32).  Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, praised God for visiting and redeeming His people.  The ‘horn for our salvation’ (v. 69) is Jesus.  He prophesied that the one born of the house of David will be the savior of Israel and that his son John will be the forerunner to the Savior.  Both miraculous births are key to God fulfilling his OT promise.  God is merciful and faithful to his covenant with Abraham, and He will fulfill His promise by conquering His enemies.  

Zechariah prophesied that his son John the Baptist will be the ‘prophet of the Most High’ and God’s messenger (Mal. 3:1 ) and he will prepare the way for the Lord (Is. 40:3).  and provide knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins (Lk. 1:17).  Because of God’s mercy, Jesus, the light of the world, will dispel the darkness and guide people into the path of peace.  

Almighty ever-living God, as we await the birth of your Son, direct our hearts and actions according to your good pleasure.  Help us to be heralds for your Kingdom on earth and to abound in good works that we may be welcomed as faithful servants when our work is done.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.