A Special Man

 

 Lk 1:57-66,80

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.

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

Luke paints a vivid picture of the birth of this special man, the last of the prophets announcing the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah. The years went by and the question of the people, "What is this child going to be?" was answered. He prepared the people for the mission of Jesus and lost his life to the forces of evil when he confronted Herod for his sinful marriage. We have before us a fearless spokesman for God,  "voice crying out in the wilderness", preparing the way for the Savior. How can we continue his mission in our families, our circle of friends, our workplaces? Jesus has come but is being greatly ignored.  It's time for us to rise and take up the mission of John and again announce the arrival of the Messiah.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, thank you for John the Baptist.  Help me to continue his work and our Marist mission of making Jesus known and loved. Amen.