God is Gracious, God shows Mercy - Lk 1:57-66
John has already been born, but Zechariahstill cannot talk, unable to even join the pious conversations going in preparation for circumcision. What a tremendous spiritual battle must have been in the heart of this priest. However, now, unlike when the joyful news of the son's birth was revealed to him, he remains firmly on the promise and firmly writes on the tablet: John will be his name. Zechariah puts a final seal to increase faith by showing complete confidence in God's plans. Only now we can see that he has become a deeply believer from an unbeliever. His tongue is loosened and his heart opens and he begins to praise God. Zechariah's attitude arouses astonishment in those present, which turns into fear. We can see this whenever God's hand touches a person. Then he experiences all the majesty of God's grace and the holiness of his presence (cf. Gen 3:10; Ex 33:20).
What a great punishment God imposed on Zechariah for his unbelief, and how the punishment became a blessing. It had to be so for God's power and His grace to be fully revealed. The lack of speech was a rebuke and humiliation for Zechariah, and now it awakens his faith and strengthens his trust in God. The moment of regaining speech for the priest is the moment of releasing gratitude and praising God not only for good things, but also for what is connected with suffering.
It is worth noting that the name John means: God is gracious, God has shown mercy. Elizabeth and Zacharias must admit that there is no one in their family to bear that name, which may also mean that the full effect of grace has not yet been fully felt in that family. The evangelist describes in a very simple way the time before the Incarnation of the Son of God, when - as we sing in Advent - heaven was closed, and on the other hand, he wants to lead us to the new time of salvation that began with the coming of Jesus into the world. John the Baptist is a precursor of that time. He acts in the name of the one who will express himself most beautifully in the person of Jesus, to announce that in him all the prophecies of the Old Testament are being fulfilled. Throughout Jesus' work of salvation, the name John can be written: "God is Gracious, God Has Shown Mercy"
The name John is a summary of several biblical stories about the gift of motherhood that God gave to a childless woman. " The LORD took note of Sarah," begins the story of the Book of Genesis about the birth of Isaac (cf. Gen 2:1). " She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has removed my disgrace." (cf. Gen 30:22) - we read a few chapters later about the birth of Joseph from the barren Rachel. The birth of Samuel is described in a similar tone - God accepted the prayers of a thirsty childless Hannah, took pity on her and showed her kindness (cf. 1 Sam 1:19f). The names of all four of the children mentioned here refer to their mothers' previous infertility. Sarah called her son Isaac because "the Lord gave me a reason to laugh" because she became a mother in her old age (cf. Genesis 21: 6); for the name Isaac means "he laughed". In turn, the name Joseph means: "May the LORD add another son for me!” " (cf. Gen. 30:24) - and it perfectly reflects the experience of a woman who, after many years of waiting, was finally given a child. On the other hand, the name Samuel, which was given to her son by Hannah means "God heard".
However, it is only the name John that captures the very essence of these subsequent stories about the fact that these great men of God - who, in human terms, as if they should not have been born at all - were God's gift to God's people. As I said, the name John means "God is Gracious, God Has Shown Mercy"
This name perfectly shows that God's gifts are always greater than we can understand. This name perfectly expressed what his mother lived through: "How kind God is to me that I had a child in my old age." But the name John was meant to express incomparably more. After all, John was to proclaim the mercy of God who gave us his own Son. John was to be His Forerunner and to prepare the way for His coming
The presence of God is not a passive observation of reality, but a very active activity until the course of history changes. This is fully revealed when the promise is fulfilled that a barren woman in her old age will conceive and bear a son. Elizabeth can already anticipate in all that will be given to all in the passion of Christ's death and resurrection, and she participates in the work of grace and can become a mother.
Thanks to God's action, neighbors and relatives may discover that this gift of a child is a way of showing His Almighty Mercy. For an Israelite, the child was the fruit of God's blessing, and if we add to this the fact that the barren gives birth to a child, we will see God's gracious intervention.
The grace that God bestowed on Zechariah and Elizabeth applies not only to these two, but also to others, and through his friends it even infects everyone with joy. Overall, the theme of joy appears frequently in the Gospels. We will soon hear the shepherds proclaim the joy of Christmas, or the Magi from the East who are filled with great joy as they come to the birthplace of Jesus. In this event we feel something of a prophetic event and at the same time we see a testimony. The believers, by themself, do not have the power to testify of God's action, and their faith is often shaken. God does not always act directly or alone, hence we see that God calls man to cooperate. The people of God not only receive salvation from God, but also human cooperation is an expression of God's mercy. God comes to people not in the loud voice of a punishing angel, but in the soft voice of the prophet foretelling.
John the Baptist was a gift most special to all of us. He is the only prophet who has been tasked with directly preparing God's people to receive the Messiah. The Lord Jesus Himself said that a prophet greater than him was not born (cf. Matthew 11:11). For centuries, the Church has guessed that John the Baptist was freed from original sin already in his mother's womb, namely when his mother Elizabeth met the pregnant Mary with the Son of God. Therefore, John is the only saint whose birth is dedicated to the liturgical feast - just like the birth of Jesus and the birth of the Holy Mother.
"God is gracious, God has shown mercy." That is enough
Until Tomorrow
fr. george