The Nativity of John the Baptist
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
As
soon as Zechariah confirms his son's name, John. . .Luke reports an
odd event. He writes, “Then fear came upon all their neighbors.”
Fear? Why? Why are Elizabeth's and Zechariah's neighbors fearful at
the naming of the couple's son? John isn't a family name. We know
that much. We know that Zechariah had his tongue frozen b/c he
questioned the angel who brought news of Elizabeth's pregnancy months
earlier. What's so horrible about the name “John” that it causes
the whole neighborhood to quake in fear? “John” simply means “God
shows Himself to be gracious.” Hardly terrifying. Well, you see,
it's not just the name that's got people worked up. It's the whole
way in which an elderly Elizabeth becomes pregnant and how Zechariah
is punished by an angel and how his punishment is publicly lifted
when he obeys the Lord and allows John to be named “John.”
There's something special, something extraordinary about this kid.
That mystery – "What, then, will this child be?" – is
what's got them all whispering in fear.
If
they knew then what we know now, they would be rejoicing. John is the
herald of the Christ, our liberator from sin and death. Well, some of
them would be rejoicing – those who actually want to be freed from
sin and death and don't much mind the upheaval that Christ's birth,
death, and resurrection will cause to their everyday lives. We can
imagine that back then – like right now – there are those in the
neighborhood who either don't believe that sin is a thing or don't
believe that they themselves are actually committing a sin when they
sin. If sin isn't real, or my favorite sin isn't really a sin in my
mind, then I'm not going to be all that thrilled to hear about the
birth of a prophet who preaches the necessity of repentance and the
coming of the Savior. In fact, the birth of a prophet is probably
going to shake things up and cause me a lot of inconvenience. . .not
the least of which is having to hear about how sinful I am! So, yeah,
I'd be afraid. Especially if I know my people's prophetic history.
What does Isaiah say, “The Lord called me from birth, from my
mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword.
. .He made me a polished arrow. . .” Sharp swords and polished
arrows can only mean one thing: THAT kid is going to be a pain in the
neck.
And
indeed he was. John the Baptist didn't make a lot of friends. He had
his disciples. His followers. Those he baptized in repentance. And we
all know the story of his demise. Dancing girl. Foolish king. Severed
head. Silver platter. What we might not know is why the Church
celebrates John's birth. We celebrate Christ's birth and the BVM's
birth and John's. No one else's. So, why John? We celebrate John's
birth b/c it is all too easy for us to forget our prophetic heritage;
to set aside the ancient voice of God and misremember the promises He
made ages ago. If we forget, our tongues become stuck in ignorance
and we cannot offer Him thanks and praise for His gifts. We cannot
bear witness to His goodness in our lives. We cannot ask for what we
need, nor receive what He has given us. If we forget John, we forget
that God shows Himself to be gracious to us, and we cannot show His
graciousness to others. If we forget John, we forget the price we
might have to pay for standing on the Truth, and we may fall to
laxity in telling the truth. We remember John – his birth and death
– so that we may never forget that we ourselves are heralds of the
Christ. We are not The Christ. But we are on our way to becoming
Christs. . .prophets of the Father's mercy in this world.
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