Canine comfort
June 22, 2022
Second consultation on SEA and Concordat
June 23, 2022

Thursday June 23rd: The Nativity of John the Baptist

“What will this child turn out to be? they wondered, And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.”

Luke 1:57-66, 80

From time immemorial, God has sent messengers, prophets, and spokespersons. John the Baptist sums up all of these figures. In the Gospel of John, the Baptist identifies himself as “the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” The point John makes is that Jesus is not just one more biblical figure. He’s something altogether different—not just a speaker of the Word but the Word himself.

We are destined for union with the Word of God, but we don’t get it. Why do we run after everything but Christ? Because there’s something seriously off-kilter in us. But here’s the good news from John’s Gospel: “To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.”

We can’t grasp this on our own. God must lift us up. The Word of God, with God from the beginning, does not remain in splendid isolation. It comes down, joins us, and lifts us up. That is the essence of the Christian message. (Bishop Barron)

Photo by Agto Nugroho on Unsplash