Dec. 23, 22 – Luke 1:57-66
As we approach the day of Jesus’ birth, today’s Gospel describes the birth of John the Baptist. Luke relates that for Elizabeth the time was fulfilled and she gave birth to a son. This is a day of special joy for Elizabeth because her shame is erased by the birth of a child. Children are the fulfillment of a plan, they come from God, they are never born by accident or even by mistake, they are always born as proclamation and prophecy, they have in them a fragment of heaven and of the Word of God. In their old hearts, Elizabeth and Zechariah feel that the little one belongs to a bigger story. Children are not ours: they belong to God, to themselves, to their vocation, to the world.
The birth of John the Baptist marks in salvation history the passage from the old to the new, a passage marked
by a time of silence: the Word, removed from the temple and the priesthood, is being woven into the wombs of two mothers. God traces his story on the calendar of life, and not within the narrow confines of Institutions, albeit religious ones.
John is his name
John in Hebrew means: gift of God. Elizabeth well understood that the life she feels quivering within her encompasses the presence of God and that her child is a gift. And this is also what we all are. The name of every child who is born is: perfect gift, blessing in action, perfection in the making. To be a gift for others is the vocation of each and every one of us. The event of John the Baptist’s birth is surrounded by a joyful sense of awe, surprise and gratitude. The people are seized with a holy fear of God “and all over the mountainous region of Judea they were talking about all these things” (v. 65). The faithful people sense that something great has happened, albeit in humility and concealment, and they ask themselves, “What shall this child be?” God’s faithful people are capable of living with joy, with a sense of wonder, surprise and gratitude. And looking at these people, let us ask ourselves: how is my faith? Is it a joyful faith or is it a faith that is always the same, a “flat” faith? (Pope Francis)
For good workers.
– “What then am I called to be?” No matter what age I am, there is still life ahead of me, long or short. What is my destiny? What does God want from me?
– God’s Grace and Mercy always precede everything and everyone. May the Lord give us eyes of faith to recognize His presence in the folds of Life and lead us this Christmas of Mercy to a true encounter with the God Child!
P JOBY KAVUNGAL RCJ