Word to the Wise
Friday, June 24, 2011 - June 24 - The Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Mass during the Day
[Isa 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80,1210]John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, "What 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."
Since the feast of the Annunciation is set for March 25, the church shows that it can figure out the calendar of gestation by placing the birth date of John the Baptist at June 24, since the angel mentions that Elizabeth "is now in her sixth month." Of course, it all starts from December 25th, the date chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus. All this calendar figuring has a way of reinforcing the message that Luke, the author of the gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles, wants to get across. Luke sets up an elaborate parallel in the first two chapters of his gospel to show that although John the Baptist is great, he is lesser than Jesus by quite a margin. To put it in movie-talk, he is one of the major actors in a supporting role, but not the lead! The passage quoted above is from a speech by St. Paul, but Luke is the author of it, and it is Luke's "agenda" that is in command in Acts.
All of this is by way of taking a step back from the amazing character of John the Baptist to look at the bigger picture of God's plan of salvation, which is what Luke does in many of the homilies of Peter and Paul in Acts. We learn from Acts that there was considerable confusion about John the Baptist and the baptism that he performed as part of his preaching. We know from the gospels that some folks thought Jesus was John the Baptist, or that John the Baptist was himself the Messiah. Luke is anxious to clear that up. John the Baptist is part of God's plan. He is the actor who prepares the way for the principal character. He is related somehow to Jesus and is six months older and fits the description of a true prophet in the Old Testament sense of the word, calling Israel to repentance. But he is NOT the Messiah. John shares with Jesus the fact that his birth was unexpected. He shares with Jesus a ministry of preaching. And he shares with Jesus the death of a martyr at the hands of a tyrant as the result of jealous scheming on the part of others. That makes him a very important figure. He may not be the Messiah, but he does rate a birthday party in the church's calendar! AMEN