Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. We aspire to make way in our hearts so that our Lord Jesus Christ can pass through.
The birth of John the Baptist is a sign of God’s great favor to the childless couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and to the whole of humanity. For about 400 years, the prophetic voice in Israel was silent before John came into the picture.
John’s ministry was a ministry of repentance and renewal. Saint Augustine made an apt comparison of John’s birth with that of Jesus when he wrote:
“John, it seems, has been inserted as a kind of boundary between the two Testaments, the Old and the New. That he is somehow or other a boundary is something that the Lord himself indicates when he says, The Law and the prophets were until John. So he represents the old and heralds the new. Because he represents the old, he is born of an elderly couple; because he represents the new, he is revealed as a prophet in his mother’s womb. You will remember that, before he was born, at Mary’s arrival he leapt in his mother’s womb. Already he had been marked out there, designated before he was born; it was already shown whose forerunner he would be, even before he saw him. These are divine matters and exceed the measure of human frailty. Finally, he is born, he receives a name, and his father’s tongue is loosed.
Zachary is struck dumb and loses his voice, until John, the Lord’s forerunner, is born and releases his voice for him. What does Zachary’s silence mean, but that prophecy was obscure and, before the proclamation of Christ, somehow concealed and shut up? It is released and opened up by his arrival, it becomes clear when the one who was being prophesied is about to come. The releasing of Zachary’s voice at the birth of John has the same significance as the tearing of the veil of the Temple at the crucifixion of Christ. If John were meant to proclaim himself, he would not be opening Zachary’s mouth. The tongue is released because a voice is being born — for when John was already heralding the Lord, he was asked, Who are you and he replied I am the voice of one crying in the desert. John is the voice, but the Lord in the beginning was the Word. John is a voice for a time, but Christ is the eternal Word from the beginning…”
Just like John the Baptist who said that he is not fit to untie the laces of Jesus’ sandals, let us humble ourselves before our Lord, Love Him, glorify Him, and praise Him because He is our Savior.
Like Saint John the Baptist, let us let go of the “me lifestyle” and point to Christ. Like John may be the light the illumines the presence of the Lord in our homes and community.
Have a wonderful week
