(Note: there are two sets of readings for this Feast,
one for the Vigil and one for Sunday.)
What’s so special about John the Baptist? Well, for one thing, he is the only saint
whose birthday (nativity) we
celebrate in the Church. He is, in a
sense, the first after Mary to recognize Jesus:
he leaps for joy in the womb
of Elizabeth when Mary, herself pregnant, comes to visit Elizabeth during her
pregnancy – John’s is a spontaneous response to grace, the experience of God’s
presence. Indeed, John’s name in Hebrew,
Jehohanan, means, “God is gracious.”
The angel who appears to Zechariah tells him that his son will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. From the
moment John is born, people are amazed and wonder What, then, will this child be? The
answer is simple: he will be the
prophet, the first in 400 years, who announces the coming of Jesus. The Holy Spirit fills him so that John might
fulfill his mission: to turn many of the children of Israel to the
Lord their God in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, making them fit for the Lord. He will go
before the Lord, uplifted by his own prenatal experience of God’s
Incarnation, and the hand of the Lord will
be with him.
Strong in spirit, John
calls us all to return to the source of all of our blessings, to proclaim God’s glorious deeds, and to
leap for joy at Christ dwelling among us, every day.
(The above reflection is partially based on notes from Fr. Pat's Thursday night Scripture class.)
No comments:
Post a Comment