JOHN IS HIS NAME
John's miraculous birth shows the mercy and favor of God in preparing His people for the coming of their Savior, the Christ.
Today we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist six months before Christmas because of what we know from the biblical story of the Visitation. Elizabeth, John's mother, is in the sixth month of her pregnancy when an angel appears to her cousin, Mary. When people wonder if John is marketing himself as the Messiah, he pointed away from himself and said, "I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him... He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn 3:28). In the Northern Hemisphere, the natural cycles of the earth are relevant to this biblical story.John is born when daylight is the longest, and then steadily decreases. Jesus is born when daylight is the shortest, and then increases. John implies that we also must decrease as Christ increases in us and in our lives. We remember John because he does what we are all called to do: point to the light of Jesus Christ. May the light of Christ burn in our hearts and increase throughout our years!
Let's reflect more deeply on the life and mission of John the Baptist. We see the beginning of the fulfillment of this word when the Archangel Gabriel announces to Zechariah the marvelous birth and mission of John. When this newly born child is about to be named, as is customary on the eighth day, his relatives quibble over what name should be given to him. Don't relatives do the same today when the time comes to name a newborn? This child, however, has been named from above. The name John means, "the Lord is gracious." In the birth of John, and in the birth of Jesus, we see the grace of God breaking forth into a world broken by sin and death and by the desire to take God out of the world. John's miraculous birth shows the mercy and favor of God in preparing His people for the coming of their Savior, the Christ.
John the Baptist's life was fueled by one burning passion: to point others to Jesus and to the coming of His Kingdom. Scripture tells us that Christ Himself, whom Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit, fills John with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, John leapt in her womb as they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Cf. Lk 1:41). The fire of the HolySpirit dwelt in John and made him the forerunner of the Messiah.
What is the significance of John the Baptist and his message for our lives? When God acts to save us, He graciously fills us with His loving Spirit and makes our faith "alive" to His promises. Our lives are an offering to God, along with our family, and all that we possess. In the Responsorial Psalm, we acclaim, "Truly You have formed my inmost being; You knit me in my mother's womb... I praise You, for I am wonderfully made" (Ps 139:13-14).
God wants to fill us with His glory all the days of our lives, from birth until death. Let us renew each day the offering of our lives to God, for you are wonderfully made and ______ is your name!