To start out thinking about today’s solemnity, it is interesting to note that there are only three individuals whose nativity we celebrate in our Church’s liturgical calendar: Jesus, his mother Mary, and then John the Baptist, whom we celebrate today. Our celebration of John the Baptist’s birth today recognizes him as an important figure in the history of salvation. Since the time that John’s mother Elizabeth and his father Zechariah received news about John’s birth, since the time that Mary went on that special visit to her cousin Elizabeth while she had Jesus in her own womb, it was announced to the world that John would have a special role in the history of our faith. In today’s Gospel, we hear how God made John’s father mute because Zechariah doubted God’s will; his voice was restored only when he names his son John according to God’s will. The friends and neighbors of Elizabeth and Zechariah are astonished at what they see; it shows them that something special and unique is going on. As an adult, John is portrayed in the Gospel as fiery, assertive figure. However, John was able to channel his energy into serving God and speaking out as a prophet who pointed the way to Jesus. John the Baptist is considered the last in the line of the great prophets of Ancient Israel that culminated in the birth of Jesus.
It is interesting that today’s celebration falls within Religious Freedom Week as declared by our US Bishops. This week marks the importance of religious freedom in the practice of our Catholic faith. We recall the courage John the Baptist had in living out the calling God had for him. He proclaimed God’s word against the backdrop of a powerful Roman empire. Herod feared John the Baptist and his message so much so that John was ultimately imprisoned and beheaded for being true to his faith. Herod did not want to hear the truth in John’s words. In recent years, we have seen religious freedom under attack in our own country, both in big ways and in more subtle ways. The honesty, diligence, and fortitude by which John the Baptist lived out his faith is a good example for all of us to reflect upon during Religious Freedom Week
The celebrations that we have in our Church’s liturgical calendar certainly have a lot of relevance to our modern world and the way we are called to live out our faith. May we give thanks today for John the Baptist, for his parents Elizabeth and Zechariah, for the courage they had to live out their faith and to pass that faith down to us. May their examples give us inspiration and courage to live out our own faith in a vibrant, life-giving way.
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