Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80

Introduction

A cousin of Jesus, Saint John had the unique office of forerunner of the Messiah; an office which had been foretold in the Old Testament (Malachi 3:1). John began to fulfill this office in the desert of Judea, on the banks of the Jordan. Clothed in skins, reminiscent of Elijah, he announced to all men the obligation of washing away their sins with the tears of sincere penitence, and proclaimed the Messiah, who was about to make His appearance among them. He admonished all to charity and a reformation of their lives, and those who came to him in these dispositions he baptized in the river. The Jews practiced religious washings of the body as legal purifications, but no baptism before that of John had so great and mystical a significance. It chiefly represented the manner in which the souls of men must be cleansed from all sin to be made partakers of Christ's spiritual kingdom, and it was an emblem of the interior effects of sincere repentance; a type of that sacrament of baptism which was to come with our Lord. So noteworthy was this rite in Saint John's ministrations that it earned for him even in his own lifetime the signifying name of "the baptizer."

As we read the story of John's conception and birth, the motifs of the child of aged parents, the announcement of the birth by an angel, and the divinely chosen name echo the narratives of Abraham, Isaac, Samson and Samuel.

Acts 13:22-26

Our second reading for today comes from Saint Paul's discourse in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia. Saint Paul is providing a survey of history which shows that Jesus is from the kingly line of David and is therefore the fulfillment of all the Jewish prophesies. In looking at the historical perspective, there are three distinct periods which can be described in the history of the world:

(1) the period of Israel, which extends from creation to Saint John the Baptist;

(2) the period of Jesus, which encompasses the three years of His public ministry (from John the Baptist to the ascension); and

(3) the period of the Church, from the ascension until the end of time.

[In those days, Paul said:] 22 "[God] raised up David as their king; of him he testified,"I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish."

David is a "type" of Jesus as well as His ancestor.

23 From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.

This is the main proclamation to the Jews.

24 John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; 25 and as John was completing his course, to Judaism

to us this word of salvation has been sent.

Gospel - Luke 1:57-66, 80

This is Saint Luke's account of the birth of John the Baptist; an account which closely parallels his account of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-20).

57 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.

In the Bible, God's omnipotence is most clearly revealed by the extent of His mercy.

59 When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,

Leviticus 12:3 requires circumcision on the eighth day. By being circumcised, the child bears the mark which indicates that they are part of the covenant people of God. The ceremony of circumcision was a climactic moment when God and his people are covenanted in the perfect fulfillment of the promises on God's part and the perfect observance of the Law on Israel's part.
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,

Naming a boy after his father was a custom in Israel at this time.

60 but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John." 61 But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name." 62 So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63 He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed.

The name which had been given by the angel Gabriel in 1:13. The name means "Yahweh has shown favor," a name which symbolizes the role of Saint John in the redemptive plans of God.

64 Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.

The canticle of Zechariah is given in verses 67-79, omitted in today's reading.

65 Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?"

The people's question prepares the reader for the future B a common stylistic device of Saint Luke.

For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. 80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

It is possible that, as a young boy, Saint John was entrusted to the Essenes at Qumran.

by Fr. Mark

The First Chapter of Saint Luke described five mysteries:

1. The Annunciation to Zachary (Luke 1:5-22);
2. The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38);
3. The Visitation (Luke 1:39-55);
4. The Birth and Circumcision of John the Baptist (Luke 1:56-79);
5. John in the Wilderness (Luke 1:80).

John the Baptist and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

John the Baptist, while yet an infant hidden in Saint Elizabeth's womb, was the first to experience the sweet mediation of the Virgin Mother's Immaculate Heart. It was the God-bearing Virgin's Heart, full of solicitude for her cousin Elizabeth, that moved her to "arise and go with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah" (cf. Lk 1:39). There the Mother of God bearing her Son beneath her Immaculate Heart, "entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth" (Lk 1:40).

The Light of the Real Presence Shining in Her Eyes

This was, in a sense, the first mission of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: to carry the hidden Christ to the "little child" (Lk 1:76) destined to be the Friend of the Bridegroom (Jn 3:29), the Prophet of the Most High (Lk 1:76). With the flame of love burning in her Immaculate Heart and the light of the real presence shining in her eyes, Mary "became in some way a "tabernacle" - the first "tabernacle" in history" (John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, art. 55). With the arrival of the Virgin–Tabernacle enclosing within her the "Dayspring from on high" (Lk 1:78), John the Baptist was sanctified, washed clean of original sin, and quickened by the Holy Spirit.

Jubilation

The birth of John the Baptist was an occasion of jubilation. Having already been touched by the Heart of Mary, the Cause of our Joy, the Baptist comes into the world as the Herald of Joy. His prophetic ministry, even as he advances toward a cruel death, is illumined by a supernatural joy. "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn 3:29–30).

The Infallible Sign of the Presence of God

For what gift does the Church make us ask in the Collect of tomorrow's solemnity? For "the grace of spiritual joys." Already by his birth, Saint John the Baptist teaches us that the first of these spiritual joys is a living, personal contact with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At every moment, the Mother of God is ready to grace us with her presence. She comes always to reveal the Face of her Son, hidden now in the Eucharist as He was hidden in the tabernacle of her womb when she visited Elizabeth. The fruit of that mysterious encounter between the Infant Christ and the Infant Forerunner had the unmistakable taste of divine joy, the joy that Blessed Abbot Marmion called "the infallible sign of the presence of God."

Blood and Roses

Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Botticelli, 1505, tempera on canvas from Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence.

Look at this marvelous painting by Botticelli depicting the Mother of God, the Child Jesus and His little cousin, the Baptist. What I find most striking is that at the very center of the painting is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Virgin is holding her Child; he appears heavy in her arms. She bows low to allow the little Baptist to give her Jesus a hug and a kiss. The small boys appear to be about two years old. The Baptist has to stretch to reach the Face of Jesus; he is already dressed in his desert garb and carrying his little wooden staff. The top of the staff has the form of the Cross; the Cross thus appears directly over the head of the Infant Christ, a portent of His sacrifice. The Mother of God wears a blood red gown; something about her posture suggests an outpouring of blood, an effusion of the heart. Just behind the Virgin is a rose bush in full bloom: a symbol - yes, you guessed it - of spiritual joys.

Let Me Give Thy Son a Kiss

More than my words ever could, Botticelli's painting suggests that the mission of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is to introduce all of us, as she did the little Baptist, into a reverent and tender intimacy with her Son. The Mother of God bends over each of us, her garments dyed red in the Blood that flowed on Calvary, the very Blood that won for us every spiritual joy. Where the Mother of God is present, there charity is poured out and there spiritual joys abound. Put yourself today in the position of the child John the Baptist. Ask the Blessed Virgin to let you embrace her Son and offer Him a kiss. Her Immaculate Heart will not refuse you this.

The great forerunner of the morn,
The herald of the Word, is born:
And faithful hearts shall never fail
With thanks and praise his light to hail.

With heavenly message Gabriel came,
That John should be that herald's name,
And with prophetic utterance told
His actions great and manifold.

John, still unborn, yet gave aright
His witness to the coming Light;
And Christ, the Sun of all the earth,
Fulfilled that witness at His birth.

Of woman born shall never be
A greater prophet than was he,
Whose mighty deeds exalt his fame
To greater than a prophet's name.

But why should mortal accents raise
The hymn of John the Baptist's praise?
Of whom, or e'er his course was run,
Thus spake the Father to the Son?

"Behold, My herald, who shall go
Before Thy face Thy way to show,
And shine, as with the day-star's gleam,
Before Thine own eternal beam."

All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.