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| “St John the Baptist as a Boy” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1665 |
Readings and
Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 49:1-6
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant
peoples.
The LORD called me from
birth,
from my mother's womb he
gave me my name.
He made of me a
sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the
shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished
arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he
said to me,
Israel, through whom I
show my glory.
Though I thought I had
toiled in vain,
and for nothing,
uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with
the LORD,
my recompense is with my
God.
For now the LORD has
spoken
who formed me as his
servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be
brought back to him
and Israel gathered
to him;
and I am made glorious
in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my
strength!
It is too little, he
says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes
of Jacob,
and restore the
survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light
to the nations,
that my salvation may
reach to the ends of the earth.
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Commentary on Is 49:1-6
In this passage, the beginning of
the second of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles, the Prophet Isaiah speaks
of his own call of service to God. It presents him as “another Jeremiah”:
He is called from his mother’s womb (see Jeremiah 1:5). The
prophet has a vocation to the Gentiles (Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 25:15ff) to bring
a message of both doom and happiness (Jeremiah 16:19-21).[4] We note that God
sets his servants on their course from before their birth (see also Luke 1:15 (St.
John the Baptist), Luke
1:31 (Jesus) and Galatians 1:15 (St.
Paul the Apostle)).
The servant learns that, even at
times when his effort seems to have failed (“Though I thought I had toiled
in vain”), it is God’s strength and plan that succeeds (“my recompense
is with my God”)(see also 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). The
prophet’s role is expanded at the end of the passage to “reach to the ends
of the earth,” a revelation further elaborated in Genesis 12:3; Luke 2:31-32; and Acts 13:47.
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
R. (14) I praise you, for I am
wonderfully made.
O LORD, you have probed
me, you know me:
you know when I sit and
when I stand;
you understand my
thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest
you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are
familiar.
R. I praise you for I am
wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my
inmost being;
you knit me in my
mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I
am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your
works.
R. I praise you, for I
am wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew
full well;
nor was my frame unknown
to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in
the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I
am wonderfully made.
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Commentary on Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
This song/prayer asks for guidance
from the Holy Spirit. It recognizes that God’s spirit is in all his creation
and its knowledge is omnipresent. The idea of being called from the womb – set
aside for God – is a common theme of the prophetic tradition in both the Old
Testament and New Testament. We note that God sets his servants on their course
from before their birth (see also Luke 1:15 and
St. John the Baptist, Luke
1:31 [Jesus] and Galatians 1:15 [St.
Paul the Apostle]).
CCC: Ps 139:15 2270
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Reading II: Acts 13:22-26
In those days, Paul
said:
"God raised up
David as king;
of him God
testified,
I have found David, son
of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my
every wish.
From this man's
descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought
to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming
by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people
of Israel;
and as John was
completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose
that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after
me;
I am not worthy to
unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
"My brothers, sons
of the family of Abraham,
and those others among
you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of
salvation has been sent."
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Commentary on Acts 13:22-26
This is the first of several
instances recorded in Acts that St. Paul uses his scholarly knowledge of the
Hebrew tradition to build up a logical rationale for Jesus as Savior and
Messiah. In this passage, that development ends as he recounts the history of
God’s covenant with the Jewish people from their exodus from Egypt under Moses
to the appearance of John the Baptist (in this discourse there are quotes from
several sources: Psalm
89:21; 1
Samuel 13:14; and Isaiah
44:28). St. John was a contemporary figure about whom these people
would have been aware, and he quotes Luke 3:16. He
concludes by appealing to the Jewish audience (“sons of the family of
Abraham”) to hear the prophetic call fulfilled.
CCC: Acts 13:24 523
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Gospel: Luke 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.
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Commentary on Luke 1:57-66, 80
We hear the angel’s announcement to
Zechariah (Luke 1:13ff) fulfilled
in St. Luke’s account of the birth of St. John the Baptist. The naming of the
child “John” broke tradition (according to the tradition of the day, the child
should have been named after his father, Zechariah) and by acceding to the archangel
Gabriel’s announcement, we see the child set on a course directed by God and
dedicated to him. Based upon the closing statement (v.80), it is possible the
boy, John, was entrusted to the "covenanters at Qumran." [5]
CCC: Lk 1:68 422, 717
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Reflection:
The feast we celebrate
today, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, is raised to the level of a solemnity,
the highest, most important rank that is given to celebrations in the
Church. We point this out to invite the question: “Why would the birth of
St. John the Baptist be placed on the same level as the feasts of the
Transfiguration, Christmas, or Easter?” These other solemnities mark
major events in the life of Christ. While he was Jesus’ cousin, and his
birth, like the Lord’s, was miraculous (although not any were close to the
virginal birth of the Lord), St. John passed from sight early in the saga of
Jesus. Why then does the Church so honor the day of his birth?
We ask the question
rhetorically of course. Without the birth of St. John, Jesus’ mission
could not have happened. It was St. John who came as the “Elijah figure,”
returning as prophesied to herald the coming of the Messiah. It was St.
John who announced and prefigured the Lord in life and
death. St. John was the perfect key that opened the way for the
Savior who in turn used that key to defeat death and open wide the gates of
salvation for all mankind.
When we recall St.
John’s beginning, scripture presents us with a clear picture of his
importance in God’s plan. Like the great prophets of old, St.
John was called to his role from his mother’s womb. Indeed, his
first meeting with Jesus was from the womb as his mother, Elizabeth, met her
cousin, the Blessed Virgin Mary, when she was newly with child. St. John,
while still in Elizabeth’s womb, leapt for joy at the sound of Mary’s
voice. His path was already set, his mission already accepted. (Luke 1:40-41)
Like the Lord himself,
little is known of St. John’s early years. We may only
speculate that, growing up, he must have spent some time with Jesus.
Clearly he knew that it was he, the Lord, whose path he made straight.
His response to those who asked him later if he was the Messiah makes clear
that he was humble in his role, and awed by the call he had accepted. The
Acts of the Apostles recalled his words to us: “I am not he.” He
said when asked if he was the one expected: “Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.”
In his witness, St. John
not only announced the Lord’s coming, but provided for us an example of how we
should accept the Lord’s future coming. Like St. John, we should be
filled with awe and wonder at what God has done for us. We should be
filled with expectation at what the Heavenly Father has prepared for us.
We should be joyful as we anticipate our Lord’s coming in glory.
As we recall St. John’s
nativity on this his feast day, let us all pray that we may conform our
attitudes to his being filled with the Holy Spirit, rejoicing in the Lord who
came as he promised and will come again.
Pax
In other years in this on
this date: Monday of the Twelfth Week in
Ordinary Time
[1] The picture is “St John the Baptist as a Boy” by Bartolomé
Esteban Murillo, c. 1665.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the
exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the
International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968,
22:35, p.376.
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice
Hall, Inc., © 1968, 44:39, p. 124.
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