Glorify God In The Way We Live

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟐𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟒𝟗:𝟏-𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟑𝟗:𝟏-𝟑, 𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟓 “𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞.”

𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀𝐜 𝟏𝟑:𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟔

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏:𝟓𝟕-𝟔𝟔, 𝟖𝟎

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆.” (𝒗.66) 

If the ritual in finding a name for a new-born child is a big deal in the Philippines, the more so in ancient Israel where entire clans are involved in finding a name for the latest addition to a family. It is more special in the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth because the child to be born is what we can call a miracle baby.

As you have read the biblical accounts, Elizabeth was late in age, yet God blessed them with a child who was destined to be the forerunner of the Messiah. And by the time the child of Zechariah and Elizabeth was to be born, the entire clan were involved in searching for a name.

But what exactly is in a name? Do you have any idea how your parents chose the name that they gave you? Do names have a bearing on how a person will turn out to be? This was the predicament that Elizabeth and their relatives were in because of the custom and tradition prevailing in those days with regards to naming a new addition into the family.

         Naming an infant has always been a much-awaited moment especially for parents and even relatives of the first-born child in the family as was in the case of the Gospel for today. That it became a concern was brought about by the fact that this infant was special because his coming was foretold from above and miraculous as well since both Zechariah and Elizabeth were already advanced in age at the time.

         More so, they also did not know what their child would become. Had they known that their son will retreat to the desert to feed on locusts and honey and will be beheaded, perhaps Zechariah would not have wished to have a child.

         But John the Baptist has already been prefigured by God to become not just a prophet but a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah and in this we can see that the life of John the Baptist was intrinsically hewn to the life of Jesus.

         The coming of John and Jesus were in some way strikingly similar as their birth were both proclaimed by an angel who spoke to Zechariah at the Tent of God and also to Mary and Joseph. This manifestation shows that their birth was God’s design and what they will become has also been pre-ordained by God.

         At that time, the birth of a boy became an occasion of great joy as friends and relatives accompanied by musicians would come when the time of birth was near. And when it was a boy as was in the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth there will be great rejoicing but if it was a girl, the musicians will leave silently.

         Tradition also has it that a male child will be given his name on the eighth day which was the day of his circumcision, and the relatives of Zechariah and Elizabeth couldn’t figure out why they named the child John. It was only after Zechariah began to speak again that they realized that he was merely responding to the promptings of God.

         And as deigned by God, John became the herald that would announce the coming of the Kingdom of God. For us to appreciate what John the Baptist did as a messenger of God, we need to draw a comparison between the messengers in ancient times and the bearers of messages and or communications data of today.

         As with the other messengers of his time, John the Baptist delivered his message by mouth meaning he had to move around and announce to the people the focal point of his message which was the coming of Jesus. Today, messengers are not only motorized but take advantage of the technological advances that have removed the borders between countries and the world.

         But this is not the point of this Gospel because the passage we have for today focuses on the fact that God is sending messages to us the people he has created. These messages come in the form of the Scriptures, sacred writings, devotionals and spiritual books. God also sends messages through other people like prophets and in our present time through the Clergy and those whom God has anointed to a divine office.

         God also sends messages through nature. The sun that rises in the morning and the moon that settles through the night. The ocean waves turn into ripples as it lands on the shore. Even tragic events contain messages that we need to discern. Through all these, God is in the messages that he sends to us, and we should be able to see this reality.

         Our God comes to his temple that is in us (𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟔:𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟎) and when we are lost he searches for us until we are found. It really is difficult to stand before God and this is where many of our brethren falter as they come with their titles and positions in life, accomplishments, possessions, etc. To stand before God is to come in our authentic nature, unmasked of pretensions and abandoning our human will to his divine providence. In other words, we are to come before the Lord as we are “𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 

𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝” (𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟏:𝟐𝟔).        

In the birth of John and Jesus what we see is the Grace of God coming into a world broken by sin and hopelessness. And as John had been prefigured to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, we too are prefigured to be the heralds of the Good News. Such is the purpose of God for bringing us into the renewal, not just for us to rediscover our identity but mainly to tell others that they too have been predestined, called, justified and have been glorified (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟖:𝟑𝟎).

         But for us to become an effective messenger, we must go to our own desert like John to find our true selves. The desert allows us an opportunity that separates us from the world that will help transform us by the renewing of our minds (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟐:𝟐).

         Such a renewal is necessary because we cannot possibly evangelize others if we are not evangelized first. As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist, let us not forget that we too have our own mission and that we may become heralds like John so that God may be glorified in us. In whatever position we are in either in the church or community or in the temporal world, we must remember that we have a duty and a responsibility to fulfill and there can be no justification if we refuse to carry out the terms of our calling.

         God’s message is clear and this is especially true in this era of new evangelization that is upon us amidst the challenges against our faith. And we simply cannot do this if we are not going to “𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” (𝑳𝒌 9:23) for there is no way we can effectively proclaim the Gospel if others cannot see even a shadow of Jesus in our nature. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 24, 2025)