Word to the Wise
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - The Birth of John the Baptist
[Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80]When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
The story of the birth of John the Baptist in the Gospel of Luke serves many purposes. It is a parallel story to the birth of Jesus and is intended to show John as the forerunner and not the Messiah. At the same time, it also shows how God intervenes in history. Elizabeth's barrenness is healed and Zechariah's speech is restored - both great acts of God's mercy. The very name, "John," is a break with tradition in the family and means, "Yahweh has shown favor." This act of mercy is celebrated in the famous Canticle of Zechariah, which is not given in today's passage. Like Jesus, John then disappears from view till the "fullness of time" when he begins his ministry as the precursor of Jesus. The celebration of this feast seems to "pop up" in the Summer season of liturgical "Ordinary Time." Actually it is calculated according to the birth of Jesus because John was supposed to have been six months older! In any case, it is a reminder to us of a bigger picture of history in which God has intervened in such mighty ways through human instruments. These mighty interventions are acts of divine mercy and care. That is what salvation is all about. AMEN
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