Gospel Luke 1:57-66
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.”
Reflection This passage of Luke has a way of affirming our faith in the stories that we are listening to because those stories were first spoken of before they actually happened.
And it's interesting to look at when it did happen, how it was really engaging for people to wonder about. I mean, yeah, she was never able to have a child. She was well past the time of childbirth. And now she has a son and she's the one that said he should be named John, and his father agreed. I mean, that would also be a small miracle.
So what we're looking at is the ways in which God works. He creates a situation that seems impossible. And then we have the gift of being able to experience it. And it's so important then to ponder what it means because it's more than just the action. It's what it signifies. That's the challenge. What does it mean that John the Baptist is called God is Gracious?
Closing Prayer Father, we know that you are working in the world. We know that things are happening that are way beyond any of us to understand how, but we can understand perhaps why and what it’s teaching us, and what it’s showing us. So again, we ask for curiosity, wonder, awe, as we reflect upon these events in history and know that they're continuing to act out, they are continuing to be present in our world today. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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