The Birth of John

Today's Reflections 

      

The Birth of John

Lk 1:57-66, 80

⁵⁷When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” ⁶¹But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” ⁶²So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. ⁶³He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. ⁶⁵Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁸⁰The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

WHAT, THEN, WILL THIS CHILD BE? A Latin saying goes, nomen est numen. It means that the name somehow speaks of or augurs the character and destiny of its bearer. In the case of John the Baptist, his name in Hebrew is Yohanan, meaning, God is gracious or God has shown favor. God’s graciousness is shown in the child—a gift to his old parents, a gift to their relatives and friends who rejoice at his birth, and a gift to God’s people because John’s birth ushers in the dawning of salvation with the coming of the Messiah.

The neighbors and relatives of Elizabeth and Zechariah ask what will become of the child because signs and wonders accompany his conception and birth. First, Zechariah becomes dumb, and it is suspected that he has seen a vision of the Lord. Second, Elizabeth is both barren and old, yet she conceives a child. Third, Zechariah is able to speak when he writes the name of his son.

The birth and circumcision of John is a landmark of salvation history. It is only fitting that it be celebrated in the liturgy with all solemnity.

Do you welcome the birth of a child as a gift of God?

Or do you see it as a burden,

an addition to the problem of overpopulation?