The Promise Fulfilled

 

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶² Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

 ⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

 The Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist joins the Birth of Mary and the Birth of Jesus as the only "births" celebrated in the Liturgical Calendar. These three play a major role in the history of our Salvation; John's being that of the herald, the announcer of the Good News and the person chosen "to prepare the way" for the Messiah, his cousin, born six months after him.  Interestingly enough, John's birth comes after the summer solstice when the days begin to grow shorter and darkness encroaches upon us slowly but inevitably. Jesus is born after the Winter solstice, when light begins to replace the darkness.  Hence, John's exclamation, "I must decrease, he must increase."   John sets the stage for us, who must also decrease so that Jesus will increase through our example, our words, deeds and lives.  We too are Baptists, preparing the way of Jesus. making him known and loved..

Bro. Rene

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