[stephenkhoo]

THE JOY OF BEING A GIFT FOR THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISAIAH 49:1-6; ACTS 13:22-26; LUKE 1:57-66.80
http://www.universalis.com/20140624/mass.htm

The birthday of John the Baptist is also known as “Little Christmas” because it precedes the birth of Jesus Christ. Six months from now, we will celebrate Christmas. Understandably, we read in the gospel that some thought John the Baptist was the Christ but the latter categorically quashed such a suggestion for he saw himself and his mission as the forerunner of Christ. Indeed, before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”

Interestingly, the liturgy of the Church celebrates the birthdays of John the Baptist and Jesus six months apart from each other with John as the precursor. It is also important to note that other than the birthdays of John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church does not celebrate the birthday of saints. We celebrate their death anniversary only because their death is when they receive the fullness of eternal life. However in the case of John the Baptist, he was sanctified in the womb of Elizabeth whereas Mary was sanctified at the moment of conception in the womb of St Anne.

Why do we celebrate birthdays or death anniversaries? In both instances, we celebrate the gift of new life. However, in death anniversaries, we celebrate more than just the gift of life but that of eternal life. Regardless of whether it is birth or death, one must appreciate that life is a gift from God. The gift of life is given to us so that we can be a gift for others.

John is seen as the gift of God. John the Baptist is truly the gift of God because Elizabeth and Zechariah, his parents, were in their old age when he was conceived. This is what the name “John” means, that God is gracious. ”He will be your joy and delight.” In the birth of John and Jesus the Messiah, we see the grace of God breaking forth into a world broken by sin and death and without hope. John’s miraculous birth speaks of his call to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He is also the gift of God because he is given to us as a priest and prophet.

But what confirms John the Baptist as a gift of God to His people is God’s presence in him. It can be said that because God had given himself as a gift to him, “indeed the hand of the Lord was with him”, he became a gift to others. It was only because of God’s gift of himself in the Holy Spirit that “the child grew up and his spirit matured.” On his part, John the Baptist found joy in being with the Lord. He spent all his time in the desert so that he could be one with the Lord without distraction. He knew that “the Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name”, and that his mission was to “to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to him.”

Conscious of God’s call, he was courageous to speak the truth without fear or favour. He saw himself as a gift to King Herod by being his prophet. Before King Herod, he did not mince his words, as he did too, in reprimanding the Jewish leaders. In spite of persecution and the threat of death, he did not give up. Like Isaiah, his strength came from the Lord alone. Yes, he could easily identify himself with the suffering servant thus, “while I was thinking, I have toiled in vain, I have exhausted myself for nothing; and all the while my cause was with the Lord, my reward with my God. I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, my God was my strength.”

What was his secret? He was a man of prayer and exercised self-discipline in his interior life. He listened to the Word of God and practiced mortification and fasting. Truly, if he were such a great preacher and prophet, it was because he was one so filled with love for God. Most of all, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist met the Lord twice, firstly in the womb of his mother and then again at Jordan. In both instances, the Holy Spirit was actively encountered. Yes, the gospel tells us that John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb by Christ Himself. It was the Holy Spirit that anointed him to be the precursor for the messiah.

It must be this joy of encountering the Lord in the Holy Spirit that fueled him to want others to share in his joy. His encounter with Jesus must be so deep that already in the womb of his mother, he wanted to give his life to Jesus. His whole mission was to proclaim the coming of the Messiah and to remove the obstacles that prevent us from seeing Him when He comes. Therefore like a voice in the wilderness, he appealed for a change of heart and repentance.

His joy was to see Jesus being known, not himself. He knew that he was only the voice and not the Word. He knew that he must decrease and Jesus must increase. He was humble to recognize that he was not fit to untie His sandals. He was to prepare the way for Christ, after which he was to disappear. “He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.” (John 1:8)

How then can we share the joy of John the Baptist for the Lord? We must first remove the obstacles of love in our lives. We must take seriously the exhortation of John the Baptist to make every mountain low, removing pride and sin from our lives so that we too are called to be a life-giver.

Secondly, we must realize that we have been called to be His messengers of joy and love. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you came to birth I consecrated you.” We are called to be a joy to others. We are fortunate that we have received Jesus as a gift from God. So we must now with joy, like John the Baptist, welcome Jesus and find strength in Him. Following him, we are called to be servants of joy and love. Like them, we must evangelize others by giving them the experience of the Lord, which is the joy of our strength in all we do, give and love.

Let us be like John the Baptist, recognizing ourselves as a gift from God and at the same time be a gift to God for others through our humble service in love. We can do so only if like Jesus, we acquire a heart after Christ our good shepherd.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh