Monday 24th
June 2019. Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 139 Acts 13:22-26
and Luke 1:57-66.80)_
_*“And
they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. And he
asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they all
marvelled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he
spoke, blessing God.” (Luke 1:62-64)*_
Today happens to be the birthday of Saint John the Baptist.
Birthdays are always great days; they give us some time to reflect on the life
of the celebrant, how he or she came to be born and the impact of their lives
upon humanity.
From the life of John the Baptist, we can see that no human life
comes into existence by a mere random act. God is the one who brings human
beings to life and long before we come out of our Mothers’ wombs, God already
has a plan for our life.
John the Baptist was not yet born before God sent an Angel to
Zechariah his father telling him how he would have a son despite his old age
who will prepare the way for the Messiah. Long before John the Baptist was
formed in the womb, he already existed in the mind of God.
Long before we were born, God knew our names and he had plans
for our lives. This is what the Prophet Isaiah relates in our first reading:
“The Lord called me from the womb, from my mother’s womb he named my name…”
Dear friends, if God already knows our name before we were born,
it means he knew about us when we were formed in our mother’s womb. Abortion is
the greatest act of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. By killing an unborn
baby, we deny him or her the chance to live out the plans God already has for
them. There is no justification for taking anyone’s life even if it is just a
day old in the womb.
Names are not merely means of identification; names are
spiritual. A person’s name can affect his or her life. Our Gospel passage this
morning is a record of the naming ceremony of John the Baptist. The family
members were planning to call him Zechariah after his father because they felt
he would re-live his father’s life. But Elizabeth and Zechariah knew that this
child had a destiny different from that of his father so they both opted for
“John” instead.
It was just after naming the child that God restored his gift of
speech. And guess what? Zechariah who used to complain and doubt a lot became a
changed person; he sang the Benedictus, a song of praise to God. The people
wondered: “What will this child turn out to be?” This is the same question we
should ask ourselves each time we come across little children. Every child
deserves respect, care and love because you can never know what the future of
that child would be. This little baby you see today may one day be your
life-saver.
Our second reading sums up the life of John the Baptist. He
fulfilled his destiny. He prepared the way for Jesus. He drew people’s
attention only to end up saying: “I am not he. No, but after me, one is coming,
the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.” The moment John the
Baptist said that he had reached old age. He had finished his work and was now
prepared to bow out.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, increase my respect for the life of the
unborn. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God
bless you. (Solemnity of the Birthday of John the Baptist. Bible Study: Isaiah
49:1-6, Psalm 139 Acts 13:22-26 and Luke 1:57-66.80).
No comments:
Post a Comment