You might be surprised that our regular Sunday Ordinary Time readings this week have been taken over by a Solemnity celebration of the Nativity of St John the Baptist. Most of us may not be familiar with this feast day, because seldom does June 24 falls on a Sunday. When it does, our liturgical celebration turns to honoring St. John the Baptist and the important events surrounding his conception and birth. Very few saints are honored individually at the level of a Solemnity (though all the saints are on All Saints Day). This helps us see how significant John the Baptist is in our history of faith as the one who prepared the way for Christ.

Our Gospel today focuses on the miraculous situation of John the Baptists’ conception and birth where Luke gives us many details about his parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah. Many of these details harken back to some important birth stories from the Old Testament: Sarah and Abraham who conceived Isaac in their old age, and Hannah who conceived Samuel. Earlier in this passage, the angel Gabriel appearing to Zechariah harkens back to the appearance of Gabriel in the Book of Daniel. The angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that this child will have the power and spirit of Elijah, the great prophet.  For Luke, the birth of the Baptist is a key hinge between salvation history before Christ and then with Christ, the fullness of God’s revelation.

All these references to the Old Testament show John the Baptist, and indeed Jesus for who John prepares the way, in line with the whole story of our salvation history – the story of God reaching out to humanity all along. John the Baptist is another example of God preparing the way for Christ to come into the world and thus, preparing the way for us to share in the divine life. Perhaps this is why the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist is so highlighted in our liturgical year. It helps us reflect again upon God’s divine activity, so intentionally at work, to draw us into the divine life.

The story of Zechariah, John he Baptist’s father, is just wonderful: he doubts the angel’s words, is struck mute during Elizabeth’s pregnancy, cannot speak until he names the child John, and then issues a wondrous canticle about the mighty power of God. In our Gospel reading, Elizabeth and Zechariah break away from the tradition of naming their son, from the priestly class, after his father. When Zechariah recognizes that God is doing something new here, with the formal naming of his son different from his own name, he is able to speak again. How symbolic that he is not able to speak until he can name his blessing and recognize the mighty power of God. Perhaps this can help us reflect on our own speech and the words we speak all the time. Are these words reflecting our blessing? Do our words attest to the mighty power of God? Are they preparing the way for Christ in the hearts and minds of our hearers?

When Zechariah’s mouth was opened, he proclaimed this song of praise about St. John the Baptist. May our words join with his to name our blessing as well, and proclaim that we, too, are so wonderfully made!