From Isaiah 9:

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice
when dividing the plunder.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Zeal is not a word used in a positive way in our modern society, primarily because it is the root of “zealot”.  The implication is someone with a fervency bordering on fanaticism, operating in an impassioned state we associate with radical religiosity.  Yet at the conclusion of this beautiful prophecy about the coming of Christ written in Isaiah in Chapter 9, it is the “zeal” of the Lord of Hosts that will provide the unending peace.  Zeal is the human manifestation of the Spirit of the Lord;  it describes Christ Himself.

For followers of Jesus, on Christmas Day, how can we not experience the “zeal” of what the birth of Christ represents to us?  This is far beyond the emotion-filled sentimentality of a lovely story.  It reflects our astonishment, our enthusiastic response to the reality of the Incarnation, of God dwelling with us.

A light has dawned.  We no longer walk in darkness.

Christ, our Zeal, the human form of the Spirit, has accomplished this.