His Name is John

His Name is John

Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Lk 1: 57 – 66, 80

Today’s Gospel talks about the birth of John the Baptist. The gospel tells us that John’s parents were Elizabeth and Zechariah. They were both advanced in age and Elizabeth was barren. So when John was born, the family’s neighbors and relatives knew that his birth was a miracle. The Lord has shown his great mercy toward the couple and now neighbors and friends rejoiced with them.

And as was the custom, the child was to be circumcised on the eighth day and was to be given a name. Great must have been the excitement and the joy of friends and neighbors that the gospel tells us that they were about to give the child the name Zecharaiah just like his father.

And when Elizabeth told them that the child’s name would be John, the neighbors wondered why, and told the couple : “there is no one among your relatives who has the name.”

Zechariah, who still could not speak at that time, asked for a tablet and confirmed what Elizabeth had suggested, and wrote: “ his name is John.” The gospel then tells us that when Zechariah wrote the child’s name, “everyone was amazed.” Perhaps, they couldn’t believe that the old couple could name their only child with a name other than Zechariah’s own name.

But what happens next is remarkable. Zechariah, who has remained dumb up to this point suddenly opens his mouth and begins to bless the Lord.  Fear then grips all who were there. They have already witnessed incredible things even before John’s birth. Now, Zechariah who has long been struck dumb by an angel for his unbelief in God’s message, suddenly speaks again. Everybody began to wonder: “what child will this be? For surely, the hand of the Lord was with him.”

The church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist because of the important role he was to play in the life of Jesus. He was the forerunner, the one appointed by God to prepare the Lord’s coming.  He was the Baptist who proclaimed a message of repentance while at the same time acknowledged that the baptism he gave was in no way comparable to the baptism that Jesus was to give. He was the one who pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God.

Moreover, John’s humility was remarkable. He felt so unworthy even to untie the straps of Jesus’ sandals. He had such a high regard for Jesus as he told people : “He must increase and I must decrease.” He had no pretensions and led an austere lifestyle. He wore clothes made of camel’s skin and ate locusts and wild honey for his sustenance. He spoke the truth. And because he spoke the truth fearlessly, he was imprisoned and eventually was beheaded; his head served on a platter as a gift for an entertaining and alluring princess.

But the celebration of John’s birth is not so much a celebration for his role as Jesus’ forerunner or for giving up his life as a martyr. We celebrate his birth because John represents who we all are in the sight of God. Like John, God knew us before we were born.

When the angel announced to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a child, the angel already had a name for the child even before the child was born. A name suggests who a person is. Like John, God knew us even before we were born. God already knew who we were and what we will be even before we were born. This intimate knowledge that God has of us is simply overwhelming and simply wonderful to think of.

As John’s life was intimately intertwined with that of Jesus, so too our life is destined to be intimately linked with that of the Lord, following him and loving him, accomplishing the task and mission he gives us in our daily life.

If there is anything that we should celebrate today, it should be a celebration of who we are in the eyes of God. We are precious because we have been wonderfully made by God. We are beloved. We are known. We are loved. We are so much more than we imagine ourselves to be.

John too must have already known that he was intimately known and loved even before he was born. It is of little wonder that he didn’t preoccupy himself with the things of this world and was not afraid to lose his life.  The love of God was enough. He knew that he was precious in God’s eyes. And that was enough. Amen.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  - Jeremiah 1: 5