Word to the Wise
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - June 24: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist: Day
[Isa 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80]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 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.' [Acts]
The liturgical calendar is more precise than Mother Nature. The evangelist Luke can be blamed for that! He writes that the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the "sixth month" and mentions that "Elizabeth, your kinswoman has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren." So, if the Christian community adopted December 25th as the date to celebrate Jesus' birth, then the annunciation to Mary had to be nine months earlier, March 25, and John the Baptist's birthday had to be six months earlier, June 24th! When composing his Gospel narrative and the Acts of the Apostles, the evangelist Luke found a way to "put John in his place" - an important figure, to be sure, but not more important than Jesus!
To us now, 2000+ years later this all seems obvious, but the influence of John the Baptist must have been a challenge for the early Christian preachers. St. Paul encountered "Christians" who had been baptized "with the baptism of John." [Acts 8:16]. The narrative we are accustomed to, especially in Advent, makes John the Baptist the great "advance man" for Jesus. We celebrate his birth as a reminder of his "place" in the story of Jesus' life with a nod of thanks to Luke the evangelist! We also can remember that our own baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus makes us participants in the job description given to John the Baptist!! AMEN