His name, was divinely given and John’s birth brought joy and rejoicing among neighbors and relations of Elizabeth when they heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness.

The birth of John was an extraordinary event because Elizabeth had passed her childbearing age and was considered barren. For a devout woman, such a fate was regarded as a reproach, thus John’s birth was a sign to all that God had poured his blessings on this woman who ardently longed for a child.

How wonderful it would be if the birth of every child brought joy and rejoicing? How marvellous if every child’s birth was seen as blessing to our society? I always look forward to those news clips that herald the birth of babies on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

What a welcome change this as good news for us! Is it possible for our news media to provide us with more opportunities to share in the joy of births that touch the lives of people who become parents in our communities?

While John’s birth was unique and miraculous in those times, the age-old question still arose – What will this child turn out to be?

Don’t we wonder about this when we hold that precious bundle of new life in our arms? Even the naming of the child becomes an essential part of the faith and trust we place in our future hopes for the newborn.

We select names of saints, angels, famous or outstanding people because we are convinced that a name is a precious gift we bestow on a child. It forms an essential part of a person’s identity.

Today as we celebrate the solemn feast of this great prophet and precursor of Jesus Christ, his name stands out in biblical history as John the Baptist. John’s identity was shaped by his spiritual and relational role to Jesus. We are told in this passage that from the beginning of John’s life the hand of the Lord was with him.    

This powerful statement indicates that the continuous guiding presence in John’s life was God. The hand of the Lord reminds us of the hand of a loving, caring parent who protects, guides and leads a child in its earliest stages of development.

John was being prepared for a major spiritual role in the lives of many people. He would be the one to lead others to discover the true divine presence among them.

Every child brings to this world his own special gifts or charisms that can enhance the lives of others. Do we as parents recognize the awesome responsibility we have to be the hand of the Lord in shaping the child’s role for his future contribution to the world?

Not every person is destined to be a John the Baptist! But there are many who have shaped and influenced the course of history because of the role they played in preparing others to discover their own special path in life.

Examples of these were mothers, in particular Mary, the mother of Jesus, Monica, the mother of St Augustine. Ann Sullivan, the teacher of famous American Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf and whose life was transformed by the care and devotion of her teacher.

Activists and freedom fighters such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King who have become heroes and role models for millions around the globe because of their example. 

Like so many towering figures in history, John the Baptist did not emerge overnight. It took years of maturity. For John this took place in the harsh environment of the wilderness, a place of barrenness.

A barren womb and a barren environment produced the greatest prophet that ever lived because of the mighty power of the hand of God. May that hand continue to guide and lead us as a nation, through the hands of parents like Elizabeth and Zechariah.
 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, as we celebrate this special feast of St John the Baptist, we ask you to bless all the parents of our nation. Though you are the giver of life, you have bestowed on us the gift of being able to bring into this world new life through the birth of our sons and daughters.

Help us never to forget the awesome responsibility we have as parents, teachers and pastors for guiding the children of this nation. We pray that like John the Baptist, our youths will experience the hand of the Lord in their lives. Amen.

Gospel Meditations for June are by Dianne Diaz, just another average, ordinary Catholic, who finds deep joy in preparing this Gospel Meditation.