The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, June 24, 2004
Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Scripture from Wednesday’s Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 49:1-6
Psalm 139:1-3,13-15
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66,80

A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture:

“What, then, will this child be?”

Oh, what a question. And isn’t it the question we all ask when we look at our own children? But this great child was from conception accompanied by signs and wonders that shocked the whole community--the muteness of Zechariah, the greeting of his Cousin, the return to speech of Zechariah.

He was to be a prodigy--one who comes in the spirit of Elijah. No one quite understood what was meant by this. It seems they had vague notions of a reincarnation of Elijah. But no, as Elijah had faced Ahab and his Jezebel, St. John the Baptist had his Herod, Herodias, and Salome. And he faced them bravely speaking always the truth because he lived in the Lord.

Now, let us consider our own case. Each of us is a child of the Lord. When people look upon us shouldn’t they ask, “What then will this child be?” Shouldn’t they see in us the light of the Father, as they saw it in John the Baptist? We do not all have Herods, but we will all greet Jesus. And our greeting should be such that all the observing world will see Him and worship Him. We needn’t make a big splash -- after all, relatively few people knew of the prodigy of St. John the Baptist; however, those who knew it could not remain unmoved. So let it be with all those around us. Let us be heralds of the Lord, announcing His presence, His coming, and His salvation to all.

- JuandelaCruz
(sriddle415 at yahoo dot com)

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posted by joachim at 4:55 AM