Confident.Faith

Today we commemorate Zacharias and Elizabeth. Remembered as examples of faithfulness and piety, Zacharias and Elizabeth became the parents of John the Baptist despite their old age. Initially disbelieving the promise, Zacharias was struck mute by the angel who announced that Zacharias and Elizabeth would have a son; upon confirming his wife’s chosen name for their son, John, Zacharias was restored to his ability to speak. Upon regaining his speech, Zacharias sang the Benedictus, a summary of the promises in the Old Testament and a prophecy of John the Baptist’s ministry as a forerunner of Christ.

Today we commemorate Moses. Greatest amongst the Old Testament prophets, Moses spoke with God ‘face to face’. Moses’ life was divided into three parts of forty years each: First, he lived in Egypt in the royal court, having been rescued by the daughter of pharaoh (and the intervention of God); second, he lived as a shepherd in the land of Midian after fleeing Egypt; and, third, he led Israel during the wandering in the desert. Prohibited from entering the Promised Land due to disobedience at Meribah, Moses was nevertheless allowed to view the land from Mount Nebo, where he then died and was buried (in an unknown location) by God.

Today we commemorate Gregory the Great, Pastor. Gregory served both as mayor and, later, as bishop of Rome. Before entering full-time service in the Church, Gregory helped to strengthen a Rome weakened by enemy invasions and plague, and sold his considerable possessions and donated the proceeds to help the poor. As bishop of Rome, Gregory contributed to the Church by establishing a Church Year calendar, which some church bodies still use to this day, and overseeing musical and liturgical development, advancing missionary work in Northern Europe, and composing a book on pastoral care that would long serve as a standard in the Church.

Today we commemorate Hannah. The favored wife of her husband, Elkanah, Hannah suffered through years of barrenness, but never gave up hope in the Lord. For her devotion, she was repaid with the birth of a son, Samuel, whom she dedicated to the service of the Lord. Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving foreshadows the Magnificat, the Song of Mary, which would come centuries later.

Today we commemorate Joshua, son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. Most noted for his succession of Moses as Israel’s commander-in-chief, Joshua led a life of devotion to and faith in God. From defeating the Amalekites and being in charge of the tent of meeting to scouting the land of Canaan and leading Israel across the Jordan, Joshua showed steadfast faith in God and His promises. Joshua is especially noted for his final address, in which he, like Moses before him, presented the Israelites with the path of life and the path of death, the path of obedience to God and the path of rebellion, and in which he spoke his most famous words: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Today we observe the Festival of The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. In contrast to the Festival of The Nativity of St. John the Baptist, observed on the 24th of June, this festival commemorates John the Baptist’s beheading under Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Last of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist announced the imminent coming of Christ, and fulfilled the Old Testament prophesy regarding the return of ‘Elijah’ before the Day of the Lord. Although John the Baptist’s end may seem, to this world, a foolish and ignominious one, his martyrdom was, in truth, a profound and noble participation in the Cross of Christ.