I wonder, How many sunrises have I seen? Probably more than most because for a number of years I worked the overnight shift and I always made sure to schedule my break at first-light. So, sunrises are quite special to me; something that I always look forward to seeing. This one is different, as you look down as well as up when you see the sun. Interesting! A new perspective on a "common" occurrence. Somehow, I thought of Zacharias, who had been left without speech after his encounter with an angel in the temple. How ordinary it is for us to talk, but if for some reason you can't for awhile, then your first words flow in joyous tumult. Listen (that is, read) to what he has to say.Luke 1:67-80 (WEB)
67) His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68) “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
69) and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70) (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
71) salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
72) to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
73) the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,
74) to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
75) In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76) And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
77) to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
78) because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
79) to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80) The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Zacharias' son John was to be a great prophet and naturally this made Zacharias overjoyed, but he also put things in perspective by realizing that John was just to be a herald of the one to come. A herald of the dawn of a new age, one where God-in-the-flesh was to teach in person the way to true peace. It was if all mankind had suddenly been raised a little higher; to the very top of the world to see to see a new dawn and view it through the eyes of heaven itself.