Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 24, 2012 - June 24: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist: Day
[Isa 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80]'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
John the Baptist was the kind of person that captured attention and imagination! He was considered to be a new edition of the prophets from of old! For some, he was the messiah. It is this latter question that concerned the gospel writers! They wanted to make certain that even though John was very important, Jesus was the messiah, and John was his herald. The Gospel of Luke, in the infancy narrative, draws a parallel picture of the birth stories and tells us that Jesus and John were related to each other, but the clear message is that Jesus is the savior. In the subsequent story, the gospel is careful to distinguish between the "baptism of John" and the baptism which the early Christian community practiced "in the name of Jesus." At the same time, John the Baptist has remained an important figure in the story of Jesus. The celebration of his birthday is important enough to replace the usual Sunday scriptures!
The "prologue" to the Gospel of John speaks of John the Baptist in this way: "A man was sent from God, whose name was John. He came to testify to the light..." Scripture scholars have pointed out that Jesus probably began his public ministry as a disciple of John the Baptist. Then matters were reversed! For some the colorful Old Testament aspect of John the Baptist will be more appealing. For others, the preacher/disciple may be more appealing. Either way, we can't really tell the story of Jesus without mentioning John the Baptist. The liturgical calendar is careful to celebrate the birthday six months before Jesus' birthday! So, we can be biologically as well as theologically correct and enjoy the reminder that Christmas is just six months away! AMEN
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