To read the tests click on the texts: Mal 3:1-4,23-24; Lk 1:57-66
Two days before the birth of the Messiah, the Church invites us to reflect on the birth, naming, and circumcision of his precursor or forerunner, John the Baptist.
Luke does not give us too many details about the birth of John, and he narrates it with a short sentence. He focuses more on the events that follow the birth and, through them, show that God’s word spoken through the angel, Gabriel, is being fulfilled. Elizabeth does bear a son and the people rejoice at the birth because of the great mercy shown by God.
Circumcision of the child on the eight
day was in accord with Gen 17:9-14 where God makes circumcision on the eight
day a sign of the covenant with Abraham. It was the father who normally named
the child and, in doing so, recognized the child as his own. Sometimes, the
child was named after the father, especially if the father was a person who was
highly esteemed. Objections were raised to the name “John” (“God had been
gracious”), chosen by Elizabeth. That the people made signs to Zechariah to ask
him what he wanted to name the child indicates that, besides being dumb, he was
also deaf. The moment Zechariah writes the name “John” on a writing tablet,
Zechariah regains his speech. Once again, God’s word comes to pass. The fear
and amazement with which the people respond to these happenings is an
indication that they experienced God’s awesome power. The question that the
people ask, about what the child would turn out to be, is answered in summary
form by Luke when he ends this narrative by stating that “the hand of the Lord
was with him.”
God’s word is a word of power and will
come to pass, no matter how many obstacles we may put in its way. It is a word
that enhances and builds up, a word that gives life. To be sure, we may not
always be able to understand and accept it for what it is, but in the final
analysis, it is always a word that is for our good and for his glory.
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