John the Baptist died before Jesus’ death and resurrection, but even so, before those events, John was able to be a strong Gospel witness for Jesus, knowing that Jesus was the promised one. Even while he was in prison, John was occupied with the question of Jesus being the promised one, sending his disciples to Jesus to ask him that very question. In fact, in the Gospel of John, Jesus asserts that John is greatest in the line of prophets in the Jewish faith, a very strong claim.
Today, we celebrate the birth of John, of his birth to his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth. It is interesting that the date of the birth of John the Baptist takes place around the day in our calendar of the summer solstice, the time of the greatest amount of daylight in the northern hemisphere, which took place on Saturday, June 20 this year. The summer solstice was a time of great festivals of many pagan religions, including the Romans. With creation on earth being dependent on light for all dimensions of life, the people wanted to appease the gods who they saw as controlling the sun. It is interesting to note that the birth of Jesus comes around the time of the winter solstice, which daylight starts increasing in the northern hemisphere of our world. Jesus is our light. In his life and ministry, John testified to the light, even when he was in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, leaping for joy when he and his mother were in the presence of Mary, with Jesus in her womb. From the moment of he was conceived, John was brave in his testimony, confronting many of the social and political attitudes of his time. From the moment of our own baptism, we to are called to give testimony to the faith and to be a part of the Father’s plan. We unite our prayers with the prayers of John the Baptist today as we celebrate his birth.
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