Reflection for Saturday June 24, Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: Luke 1:57-66, 80

Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” 

But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. 

Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

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Reflection:

What’s in a name? It seems that the name of the child of Elizabeth and Zechariah has a big bearing on their future. Was the issue confined in the name only of the child or there was something bigger than the name? The relatives wanted to name the child after his father Zechariah but it was not what God wanted them to name the child. 

The Lord wanted to name the child John that’s why Elizabeth and Zechariah insisted that the child be named John. And when they named him John Zechariah was freed from his speech disability. His mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. This took place for the reason that both Elizabeth and Zechariah were faithful to what God wanted them to do. 

Faithfulness to God as evidenced with what happened to Zechariah gives us unfathomable blessings. It opens our lives to the abundant graces from God, and it heals us. 

What does God ask from us? It’s for us to be faithful to HIS will. And what is HIS will for us? It’s for us to live our lives pleasing to HIS eyes alone. The moment we contradict God and we try to live our lives for this temporal world we can expect chaos and complications to follow us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas