Birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1: 5-17)

CEBU, Philippines - John, the Baptist should not be confused with John the Evangelist in the New Testament. John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus. His mother Elizabethwas the cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John the Evangelist was a disciple of Jesus, the author of the Fourth Gospel of the New Testament.

Who is John the Baptist? What was his role andmission in our salvation history that the Church made the celebration of his birth a solemnity?

John was the son of Zechariah, a priest of the course of Abia. John's mother Elizabeth was a descendant of Aron. The birth of John was announced in a most striking manner. Zechariah and Elizabeth were bothholy people, following the ways of the Lord faithfully. But they had no son, for Elizabeth was sterile. And they were both advanced in age.

Now when it was Zechariah's turn to perform his priestly function of offering incense in the temple, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and announced that Elizabeth shall bear a son. And he shall be named John.

That many shall rejoice in his nativity. For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine norstrong drink. And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. He shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

John appeared in the desert about 30 years later to deliver his message to the world. "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar... the word of the Lord was made unto John, preaching." (Luke 3: 1-3), clothed not in the soft garments of a courtier, but in those of camel's hair. His whole appearance manifested undaunted constancy. And all the country about Jordan, drawn by his strong and winning personality, went out to him. "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand." (Matthew 3:2) was the heart of his teaching. To confirm the good disposition of his listeners, John baptized them in the river Jordan.

One day as Jesus was standing at a distance, John pointed him out, and declared; "Behold the Lamb of God." Then Andrew, with another disciple of John followed Jesus. And the two became disciples of Jesus.

The role and mission of John the Baptist, as predicted at his birth was to be the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah - to prepare the way of the Lord. He came preaching conversion and repentance for the kingdom of God is near. He prepared the way for Jesus. He was regarded as the last prophet of the Old Testament. He serves as the link between the Old and the New Testament.

Of him Jesus himself testified, "... What did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garment? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send my angel before your face, who shall prepare your way before you. For I say to you: Among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist." (Luke 7: 24-28)

John suffered a martyr's death by beheading after languishing in the prison of Herod for his fearlessdenunciation of the adulterous relationship ofHerod and Herodias. John's influence did not die with him. It was far reaching as we learn from Acts 18: 25; 19: 3 where we find that proselytes at Ephesus had received from Apollo and others the baptism of John.

The commemoration of the Nativity of John the Baptist isone of the oldest feast, if not the oldest, introduced into both the Greek and Latin liturgies to honor a saint. But why is the feast proper, as it were, of St. John on the day of his nativity, whereas with other saints it is the day of their death? Because it was meant that the birth of him who, unlike the rest, was "filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb," should be proclaimed as a day of triumph.

Finally, what can we learn from John the Baptist for our Christian living? First, we see in John the Baptista man who walks the talk. Not only was his message strong and convincing, his life style witnessed to his message. . . . Even Herod "feared the people; because they esteemed him [John] as a prophet(Matthew 14:5). After some time this resentment on Herod's part seems to have abated, for according to Mark 6: 19-20, he heard John willingly and did many things at his suggestion.

We can also imitate John for his honesty and humility. With his growing popularity among all kinds of people, he resisted the temptation of claiming to be the Messiah, or at least not to deny what people say. Instead, he points to "the One who is to come."

And when his disciples reported that Jesus was also baptizing, instead of feeling a competition, John humbly stated, "He must increase. I must decrease."

In a sense, all of us Christians are called to ne like John the Baptist. Our life, words, and actions must point to Jesus Christ, He must increase. We must decrease. (FREEMAN)