Today, on the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, we recognize our duty to heed God’s word — to listen from the depths of our hearts for His one unique call, to cast aside our prejudices and worldly desires, to offer ourselves up as vessels of divine love through every action that we undertake.
In the Gospel, we hear the story of Elizabeth naming her newborn son John. She does this despite all expectations that her child will take the name Zechariah, after his father. Her actions acknowledge the distinct path that awaits John in the faith, a path unbeknownst to all in her midst and yet, one that remains illuminated and fortified beyond all earthly power with the strength of God’s word. When John’s father Zechariah echoes his wife, he too acknowledges the path his son must embrace. In return, he finds himself blessed with the gift of speech.
The Nativity of John the Baptist prompts us to strive for new possibilities in the service of our heavenly Father. It urges us to seek untrodden paths, to approach the challenges of the day with ingenuity and a willingness to accept difficult tasks. It asks us to examine ourselves and our institutions with an unflinching eye. It challenges us to emulate the valor of John the Baptist, who “grew and became strong in spirit” while listening to God’s word and forging ahead on the path his parents recognized for him. So too must we listen for God in our own lives. Only then will we perceive the call to speak out against injustice, to care for the sick and vulnerable among us, and to erase the sin of racism in this country. Only then will we come to see God in the voices of the suffering and the oppressed.
From across the ages, John the Baptist invites us to summon his courage for ourselves. Can we break free from convention in the name of the faith? Can we live out the work of the “sharp-edged swords” and “polished arrows” that God made us to be, proclaiming our Christian message with discipline, fortitude, and humility? As we prepare to emerge from the desert of self-isolation, it is imperative that we bring with us these questions in confronting the painful lessons learned over the course of this journey. We cannot overlook the wounds exposed, the cries emitted, the sorrows experienced. We must come forward from our own desert as John did from his, armed with the courage to stand by the side of our Lord Jesus Christ and defend His love until death.
