Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Scripture:
Isaiah 49:1-6
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66, 80
Reflection:
“John is his name.” Today, we remember the birth of St John the Baptist. Admittedly, the Scriptures present him as rather threatening, but his name in Hebrew means Yahweh (God) is gracious! The word gracious in Hebrew is ḥānan which means kindness with compassion! In fact God is Self described in Exodus 34:4 “a merciful racham(compassionate) and very generous (ḥānan)! The phrase rhymes in Hebrew, racham and ḥānan
John the Baptist had to be forceful in waking up his generation to the incredible act of love and kindness from the Father! John’s mission was to prepare the people for the greatest event ever to happen in the cosmos “the Word was made Flesh”! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” JN 3:16
Another St John wrote passionately: “11He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God” John 1:11
The greatest tragedy of our lives is not to receive and appreciate this enormous gift of Jesus from our Father in Heaven. So many parents today who by not practicing their faith do irreparable hurt and loss to their children. I can think of no other child abuse that is worse than this! We must prayerfully and intensely encourage young parents to be faithful in example and instruction to their children. I never saw my parents miss Mass on Sunday except for illness.
Married couples have the power to have children. What a beautiful opportunity! I think many today can easily rationalize about not having more children! What an awesome thing to do! To give life with God to a human being that is destined to live forever! Wow!
Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.