“Jesus
plan called for action, and how He expressed it predicted its success. He
didn't say "you *might* be my witnesses," or "you *could* be my
witnesses," or even "you *should* be my witnesses." He said
"you *will* be my witnesses.” – Charles
Swindoll: (born October 18, 1934
is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher)
Gospel
Text: (LK 1:57-66, 80)
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to
have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great
mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to
circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah
after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives
who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father
what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John
is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his
tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their
neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them
to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
For surely the hand of the Lord was
with him.
The child grew and became strong in
spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
Today we celebrate the birth of St.
John the Baptist. He was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Luke tells us the
angel Gabriel announced his birth to his father Zechariah and gave him the name
John, which means “God is gracious.” (Luke 1:8-23) When the Church celebrates
the feast day of a saint, we are usually celebrating the day of the saint’s
death—what you might call the saint’s “supernatural birthday”—the day on which
they entered heaven. But the Church also celebrates the natural days of birth
of three persons: Christ Jesus, of course, on the feast we call Christmas; the
Blessed Virgin Mary, on September 8th, nine months after the feast of Mary’s
Immaculate Conception; and Saint John the Baptist, on this day which falls
sixth months before Christmas eve.
Many people provide messages that they
themselves do not live up to. But John the Baptist not only preaches a
message, he is the message. Because his beliefs and his actions are one
and the same, people listen to what he says. He is an authentic witness because
he himself is authentic.
John's preaching is a witness of the
truth.
His message is effective because he is
completely empty of himself. He does not preach himself. He points
to someone beyond himself.
"One mightier than I is coming
after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his
sandals. I have baptized you with water; He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit (Mark 1: 7-8).
Our world has an urgent need for
witnesses.
We must witness that our identity is
centered on true spirituality, and that our morality derives from that
spirituality.
We must witness that our faith
challenges many of the values of the dominant secular culture.
We must witness that our traditions have
great meaning for us.
We must witness that adherence to
traditional morality often comes at a considerable personal cost: perhaps of
losing family, friends, even jobs.
We must witness that what we have
found in Christ Jesus is true, real and worth living out.
We must witness by striving for
personal holiness, authenticity and integration. Witness has no room for
complacency, hypocrisy, or self-indulgence.
To be a witness in this way is not an
easy task. We may stumble and fall many times. However, the Lord
will magnify our frail efforts into enormous accomplishments for the
fulfillment of his salvific plan.
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