GOSPEL POWER | JUNE 24, 2021  | THURSDAY | Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist

Gospel: Lk 1: 57 – 66, 80

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. . . . The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

Reflection

Zechariah is a mute witness to the unfolding of God’s  graciousness, which cannot be blocked by his initial  doubts and lack of faith. In silence, he discovers the truth  which his own name, Zechariah, signifies — “The Lord remembers.”  Their inability to produce an offspring in the prime of their youth  was not a curse. Their prayers have not been ignored. The God of  limitless possibilities saves for them a big surprise at the sunset of  their life. In silence, Zechariah learns to align his will with God’s. And  his definitive expression of obedience is to write, “John is his name,”  defying the wishes of relatives and neighbors to name the child after  him but heeding the angel’s instruction in the vision. God responds  immediately to Zechariah’s obedience by restoring his speech, so that  he may proclaim the meaning of his son’s name, which he learned in  silence — “The Lord is gracious!”

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help us to appreciate the importance of silence as a space for  learning and aligning ourselves with the ways of God. Amen