We’ve journeyed so far this Advent. It’s flown by, and there’s hardly been time to breathe.

 Here we are, the day before Christmas. Many of us will go to Mass tonight. This morning’s Gospel reading — different from what we’ll hear at a vigil Mass or the Mass for Christmas Day — is Zechariah’s first speech after nine months of silence. It’s a reminder that the Lord is behind all the good things in our lives.

It points to the joy at the heart of how we live and what we live for. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,” Zechariah begins, “for he has come to his people to set them free.”

Our joy sets us free, free from the bondage of sin, free from the bondage of fear, free from the bondage of busyness.

Our joy is Jesus. He came as a baby. He comes as the Eucharist.

Let your joy loose. You’ve been building up to this moment for all of Advent, and now the Christmas season awaits you. 

“In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”