There are only three individuals whose
nativity we celebrate in our Church’s liturgical calendar: Jesus, his mother
Mary, and then John the Baptist. And his birth is recognized as a solemnity,
not a memorial or a feast. Thus, John
must be quite an important figure in our faith to warrant such recognition of
his birth. Ever since John’s mother
Elizabeth and his father Zechariah received news about John’s birth, ever since
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 salvation. In today’s
Gospel, we hear how God made John’s father mute because Zechariah doubted God’s
will, and how his voice was restored 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 – they know that something special and unique is going on.
John himself had a fiery, assertive personality, but he channeled his energy
into serving God and speaking out as a prophet who would point the way to
Jesus. In fact, 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 the Fortnight for Freedom that our US Bishops
declared, celebrating 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. John
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 the words of John the Baptist.
As we see our religious freedom under attack in our own country right
now, in big ways and in other ways that are more subtle, perhaps 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.
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. Let us 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 manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment