Upon the eighth day Elizabeth and Zechariah brought their infant to be circumcised. Their family members and neighbors who gathered with them expected that the child would be named after his father, but Elizabeth spoke up: “No. He will be called John” (Lk 1:60). The family members deferred to Zechariah. Zechariah affirmed Elizabeth’s pronouncement as he wrote on a tablet that: “John is his name” (Lk 1:63).

John was a common name, usually associated with the priesthood, and comes to us today from the Greek Iōannēs which is derived from the Hebrew yôḥānān meaning God is or has been gracious. The people were amazed because the parents were stepping out of the tradition of naming a first born after the father or grandfather. When Zechariah’s voice returned and he was no longer mute, he began to praise God. Those gathered became afraid. The terms amazement and fear, used throughout the Bible, were expressions or reactions to the working or presence of God. The hand of God was believed to be with this child.

Elizabeth and Zechariah model for us the path of faithfulness. Despite opposition they followed the will of God and named their child John as he directed. How many times do we face pressure or direct opposition from friends, family, colleagues, classmates, and neighbors to do what God would have us do or to speak what he would have us say? The opposite may also be true, are we open when God is speaking through these same people when they are seeking to guide us to make healthy choices for change?

God is gracious, he seeks the best for us. That is why he sent John to prepare the way for his Son, “to testify to the light, so that all might believe though him” (Jn 1:7). We are drawing ever closer to Christmas, now only a day away. We have the opportunity to prepare, to turn away from our selfishness and sin, to give the gift of God’s grace given to us, the presence of his Son among us, the light that shines in the darkness, the light that fills our heart with fulfillment, joy, and love.

May we continue to prepare our hearts and minds to receive the baby Jesus this Christmas and remember the gift we have been given, our redemption. We have been redeemed, we have been saved. This is our hope, this is our gift to share with the world, this is the story that must be told. As the moon reflects the rays of the sun, may we be not afraid to reflect the light of Jesus the Christ that shines in the darkness. May we embrace the warmth of his love as Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John had done, and may that embrace melt away any anxiety or fear that we experience, and so like them, no matter the opposition, may we radiate his love and joy in all our interactions, so to prepare a way for the Lord to come into other’s hearts and minds.
———————————————–

Photo: Cardinal Newman Chapel

Link for today’s Mass readings, for Saturday, December 23, 2017.