June 24, 2017 Saturday
Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist
1st Reading:
Isaiah 49:1-6
2nd Reading: Acts 13:22-26
Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80
When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her and they rejoiced with her.When on the eighth day they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father.
But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” They said to her, “No one in your family has that name”; and they asked the father by means of signs for the name he wanted to give. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again and his first words were in praise of God.A holy fear came on all in the neighborhood, and throughout the Hills of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; he lived in the desert till the day when he appeared openly in Israel.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Today’s Feast of the birth of John the Baptist takes us back to the biblical scene where two “barren” women met on the hills of Ain Karem. One was literally barren for she remained childless. Her name was Elizabeth. The other woman was poetically barren, because even with her natural capacity to bear a child it was not possible for her to conceive a God in her womb. Her name was Mary.
God’s hand turned their “barrenness” to fruitfulness. Conception in old age bannered Elizabeth’s story through generations, while conception in virginity bannered the story of Mary throughout the annals of history. In that meeting at Ain Karem both were no longer “barren”, for Elizabeth was on her sixth month of pregnancy while Mary was already carrying in her womb the savior of the world. The two women sang similar songs of thanksgiving proclaiming “the great thing” that God has done in their lives. The fetus in Elizabeth’s womb, later named John heard that song and leapt for joy.
We are humbled by John who even before he was born already leapt for joy out of gratitude to the Lord. Let us recognize the wonderful things which the “merciful” God has done to us. The adjective “merciful” is a fitting reminder that as sinners we do not deserve any favor from God. For like the two women who met at the hills of Ain Karem, we too are barren in so many ways. Only in God can we bear fruits that last. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM
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