The birth of John the Baptist puts a different spin on the birth of Jesus. We get to see the birth and life of Jesus through the eyes of relatives who were going through the same odd happenings that had surrounded Mary and Joseph. Zechariah and Elizabeth are the proud parent's of John, who would later be called The Baptist, new parents who are allowed to see into the future and understand that there was hope, a great hope coming to the world. Zechariah’s song reminds us that the backdrop of all this hope is perilous times. The world is sinking in chaos and sin.

It doesn’t help that we are so familiar with the events of the Christmas story. Our familiarity is both a blessing and a bane. It is a blessing that we know about the historical event that took place 2000 years ago and that we apprec…