Awakened to Messiah's Mercy

For two Sundays, I will focus our thoughts on a song given to the father of John the Baptist. The covenants God made with Israel were brimming with promise about a coming Saviour, but Zechariah had to be readied to understand the personal impact of this. What does it mean that God has enacted his mercy through Jesus Christ? What does it mean to have a Messiah? And what does it mean to live by hope in this Christ and this mercy.