Main news for 15 February 2025

Through the prophet Zechariah, the Lord calls the people, after their return from captivity, to trust His blessing and work. "Do not be afraid!" are the key words of all chapter 8, expressing the prophet's faith that the ways of the Lord, however inscrutable they may be, draw a person toward salvation and life. In verses 14-17, again repeating the call, "Do not be afraid!", the Lord says something exceptionally important and unexpected. All His preceding words can be understood as a call to persistent labor in building the Second Temple, if we stay within the limits of the historical context. But the Word of God does not leave us that option. "These are the things you shall do," says the Lord. At this point one expects a list of architectural details for the Temple's construction. But it turns out that the heart must be applied to a completely different labor: "...speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and peace in your gates. Let none of you devise evil in your heart against your neighbor..."

So the constructive labor by which we are called to take part in God's saving action consists in judging rightly, loving peace, and not devising evil against one's neighbor. First, these words immediately broaden the context of the prophecy: from a word of comfort to the Jerusalemites of the late sixth century B.C., they become a promise about the Kingdom of the age to come. Second, almost for the first time in the Old Testament, God's rejection of evil is so clearly extended not only to people's actions but also to their thoughts. Clearly this too is a foretaste of the New Testament. Finally, it is important that the Lord calls people to this work of righteousness, peace, and mercy for a specific reason, expressed in negative form. One must not devise evil against one's neighbor or swear falsely because God hates this. Such a calling to become like God is also one of the essential features of the New Testament.