Today is the Feast of St. John the Baptist’s Nativity.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[a] for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon[b] us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
There is so much packed into this Scripture.
But I think my favorite description comes from a third grader, Dunkin.
One day, when asked by the Parish Priest during his daily visit to the school, “What did you learn today Dunkin?” Dunkin enthusiastically replied, “Well Father, I learned all about St. John the Baptist’s birthday. And I learned about his dad. Did you know God made him dumb (to be unable to speak) Father?” Without skipping a beat Dunkin excitedly went on, “But you know what the really cool part was Father???? When the dad listened to what God told him to do and wrote down John’s name for everyone else to see, God undumbed him!!”
“Isn’t that cool, Father?!?! When we listen to God & do what He asks us to do, He can undumb you!“
And Dunkin is so right.
God speaks to each of us.
Will today be the day you let Him undumb you too?
And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Luke 10:27
hugs n’ blessings to all my smart friends!
Our Holy Father, we thank you for the beauty of this vision and for the truth of it. We know that you are forever reminding us that your word is true. How foolish it is that we should ever turn from it or cast it aside or be indifferent to it or act as though it were of little importance. Lord teach us to examine ourselves and to walk in earnestness and honesty before you and to realize that all this is designed so that we may come into the understanding and the experience of a time of glory within such as we have never know before. Make these words to be the experience of each of us as we learn to walk before you our living God, and to know what it means to have the glory of the Lord within. We ask in Christ’s name, Amen.
Ray Stedman
hugsnblessings 