Focus
As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.
Read
13 On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
2 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. 3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord”; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy. 4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, 5 but each of them will say, “I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession since my youth.” 6 And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?” the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
says the Lord of hosts.
Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, says the Lord,
two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one-third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, “They are my people”;
and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
Reflect
Today is Thanksgiving Day. Family gatherings may be very different this year due to Covid-19. Some will gather in person, as usual, some by zoom and others somewhere in-between. While Zechariah and his people did not have Covid-19, they certainly had their share of problems. In this passage, the prophet offers hope for the future. “On that day,” the future will be opened by the Messiah to all. There will be no more need for prophecy because “on that day” it will have been fully realized. There will finally be a time when the people no longer disobey God and bring down the wrath, but a day when the people will all believe and declare that “The Lord is our God.” Now that is something for which to be thankful.
Pray
O God, we give thanks for this special time each year we set aside to express our thanks and gratitude for all our many blessings. May we feel and express this gratitude every day, all year long. Amen.
Go with God!
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