May the good Lord bestow on you those gifts he adorned John the Baptist with: courage in proclaiming the word of God, sincere humility, the spirit of self-discipline/asceticism and the generosity of heart even to the point of offering your life in witnessing to your faith in God! Happy Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist. + John I. Okoye.
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
Today the Church celebrates the Birth of John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus Christ. As a forerunner of Jesus the person and mission of John the Baptist is connected to the person and mission of Jesus Christ. The gospel reading of today is a part of the section of the gospel of Luke that is named the Infancy Narrative of Jesus Christ. It follows the scene of the visit of Mary to the house of Zachary. At the birth of John the Baptist, he was not to take on the name of his father, Zachary, but John. Their neighbours and relatives presumed the boy would be called Zachary after his father. They saw his identity and destiny linked with his family, and kin. The boy’s parents both insisted he would be called John, a name that means God is gracious. The name could refer to God’s goodness in granting this child to a couple who were advanced in years (cf. Luke 1,7), or it could be a promise of future blessings. The name was given by an angel. Since it came from heaven, it was correct to say this child’s destiny would be a heavenly destiny. There is evidence in the reading that this was truly a chosen child. At his birth the neighbors and relatives rejoiced that God had shown great mercy (éleos), not simply kindness (chrēstótēs), toward his mother Elizabeth. This suggests she was in great need and God took pity on her, making the child particularly cherished. Furthermore, his father Zachary was given back his speech when he confirmed that the child was to be named John. He was but eight days old and already he has been a source of blessing for both his parents. While Zachary blessed God for the marvels that had been performed, the neighbors were frightened by them. They did not know what to make of these events, but they were convinced God had great designs for this child.
There is no gainsaying that from the beginning the hand of the Lord was on John. His conception has been extraordinary (cf. Luke 1,7); his name had been announced by an angel (cf. Luke 1,13); like many prophetic figures, he had been chosen from his mother’s womb; his father had been struck speechless and remained so until his name was proclaimed to others (cf. Luke 1,22, 64). Everything about this child pointed to a divinely determined destiny. His almost appears to be a thankless role, but it was not. His was the last prophetic voice that challenged the people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah; he was privileged to see the one that others did not see. John opened the door to the future and then stepped aside so that the voice from the future might call us forth.
John the Baptist is the hinge between the old age of promise and the new age of fulfilment. John was never a disciple of Jesus; he did not enter the age that he heralded (cf. Matt 11,11; Luke 7,28). He was the trumpet that sounded the coming of the king; he was the rooster that announced the dawning of the new day. The idiosyncratic character of his life caught the attention of the crowds, but he did not keep this attention on himself. Instead, he used it to point to Jesus. As a precursor of Jesus, John the Baptist was humble. Due to his exceptional figure and reputation, people thought he was the Messiah. But he refuted this decisively: I am not he whom you think that I am; but one comes after me of whom I am not worthy to untie his sandals. To untie the strings of sandal was the duty of a slave. By this statement, John the Baptist confessed his total subordination to Christ. John the Baptist was not trying to attract attention to himself, but on the word of God and on the One sent by the Father, the Messiah that was being expected. We, the baptised Christians, should bear in mind the great lesson of John the Baptist: Jesus is the Lord and Saviour and we are only unworthy servants. It is to be noted that one of the great merits of John the Baptist was his not claiming the role of the Messiah. One of the impressive record of the humility of John the Baptist is given in the gospel of John 1, 35-36 where John the Baptist was standing, fixing his eyes and pointing at Jesus who was passing proclaimed: Behold the Lamb of God. John the Baptist’s vocation to point out the saviour must be relived by each of us. We are born, like John, to give place to Jesus. When we have reached our moment of strength, insight, ability and full vocation, we are called to look for the one who comes after me. Our life is to be absorbed and transformed—in a way, perhaps, that we never anticipated—through marriage, through vocation in a religious order or priesthood or single state, through sickness or death of loved ones. At such moments we need to re-visit the Scriptures of today’s Mass, and recall that part of the Holy Mass where we can, with the priest, say: Behold the lamb of God. This phrase, first spoken by John, is the church’s invitation to Holy Communion.
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