birth of John the baptist: what will this child be?

Isaiah 49:1-6; Ps 139 I praise you, for I am wonderfully made; acts 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66, 80

John along with Mary are the only two birthdays we celebrate in the liturgy of the Church outside of course, the Birth of Christ himself.

Thus, we must pause today to remind ourselves that the birth of John the Baptist is a big deal. John's birth marks the beginning of the fulfillment of the divine promises: John is the prophet who is destined to be the immediate precursor of the Messiah, to prepare the people for his coming.

He begins what Isaiah speaks of in today's first reading, "my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." God has big plans and John the Baptist is sent to prepare the way for the plan of God to unfold in Christ.

John's life shows us that our life, if it is to be meaningful, must always be "relative" to Christ and is fulfilled by accepting him, which connects us to God's big plans.

The program of life that John the Baptist lived can be summed up in this little phrase pressed upon his lips in the gospel, "He must increase, I must decrease." Here in lies the program of our lives.

Here in lies the answer to the question posed in the gospel, "What, then, will this child be?"

The million dollar question that is pressed upon the lips of many parents as they hold their children in their arms and watch they grow. Most parents have big dreams.

None had bigger dreams than God the Father. But then again this is no dream. This child shall become the "voice" crying in the wilderness to "prepare the way of the Lord." This Child shall stand before the crowd and point at Christ and proclaim, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

This child is the voice of the ages because He points toward the eternal Word himself, Jesus the Christ.

The beauty of John the Baptist is that he never speaks just to hear himself talk. Every time he opens his mouth, it is filled with meaning and leaves a lasting impact. He never says anything that didn't mean something. There are no careless words that leave his mouth; all are spoken directly and assertively and purposefully.

Every word is directed toward the Word, the face of God in Christ. Never upon the lips of John the Baptist do we find those words often thrown about in our life, "I didn't mean anything by it." John means something and this something is a someone, Christ.

We should imitate John so that our life work is to point toward the face of God in Jesus. We should not busy ourselves with pointing fingers at others because of their presumed hypocrisy or faults but rather simply point toward Christ and allow his goodness and gentleness to be radiant and thus transforming. Point to toward Christ so that others may begin to see Christ in themselves and those around them. This alone brings about conversion.

This alone invites all to become part of God's big plans.