The birth of John the Baptist

 

John the Baptist is an icon of our identity in Christ.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, the solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist, Saturday 24th June, 2023
Texts: Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139:1-3.13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66.80 

Today we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. He was a man whose naming signalled a departure from tradition. We read, “they would have named him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said, ‘Not so; he shall be called John.’ And they said to her, ‘None of your kindred is called by this name.’” John the Baptist came as an herald of a new dawn, herald of Christ. Apostle Paul affirms this in today’s second reading: “Before his coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.”  

We are also heralds of Christ to the world just like John the Baptist. We are to fill our various societies with the Spirit of Christ. We do this by a holy life and calling for repentance. The repentance begins from us.  

Today’s first reading imprints on our minds that John the Baptist was convinced of his calling. We read, “Listen to me, O Islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” Apostle Paul also speaks this about us: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family” (Rom. 8:29). We see that John the Baptist is an icon of our identity in Christ. His calling reminds us of our calling.  

You are the light of the world

We are to announce to the whole creation our identity in Christ as we read in the first reading “Listen to me, O Islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” The prophecy imprints on our minds that John the Baptist did not hide his identity. In gospel reading we read, “And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.” 

Concerning us Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Mt. 5:14-15).  

The first reading also reminds us that John the Baptist encountered his calling as a mystery. He felt his labour yielded nothing. Sometimes, we also feel it is futile keeping God’s commandments, attending mass or praying Rosary. Just as the Lord said to Isaiah, we are honoured in His sight and He is our strength. He is preparing us for greater thing. He says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 

Prayer 

O God, who raised up Saint John the Baptist to make ready a nation fit for Christ the Lord, give your people, we pray, the grace of spiritual joys and direct the hearts of all the faithful into the way of salvation and peace. Amen  

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke