Herald the Coming of Christ!

LUKE 1:57-66, 80

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.

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

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Today is the Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist. It is notable that only two saints are given the dignity of being celebrated on the days of their birth: we celebrate the birth of the Blessed Mother on September 8, and we celebrate John the Baptist today.

In the Philippines, and especially in the City of San Juan, a suburb of Manila, there is a tradition in which passersby and unsuspecting pedestrians and commuters are being sprinkled, others even doused, by water, to remind them of their baptism.

Today's feast reminds me of this: a mission to herald the coming of Christ.

John the Baptist can be considered one of a kind due to the fact that his birth ushered in the coming of the Savior. He must have been given the privilege to recognize the Messiah early on, even as he was in the womb of his mother Elizabeth! He leaped in joy within the womb of his mother when Our Lady visited them. This shows us the extraordinary destiny John the Baptist is called to.

John's world must have been too chaotic. The Jews were only grudgingly forced to accept the rule of the Roman Empire, and there may have been discussion going on as to when the Messiah was to arrive. This backdrop set the stage for the role that John was to play in the coming of the Messiah.

We too are faced with a very confusing world, reeking of immorality and lack of social conscience. This sets for us a perfect backdrop for us to imitate the example of John: preparing the way for the Lord and setting straight His paths.

John however suffered dearly in heralding the coming of Christ: it cost his life.

How much are we willing to risk?

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I just came from group ward work at the hospital where I and my classmates encountered a patient with quite a lot of concomitant illnesses, among them diabetes and asthma. Interacting with her bantay (caretaker relative) revealed a lot about how God's love brightens up the sick and the sorrowing.

It appeared that our patient was not an avid churchgoer. Talking to her otherwise very religious bantay inspired me to tell our patient to trust God and He will do the rest.

"Magtiwala po lagi sa Panginoon, ha? Mag-pray po lagi! God bless po! (Always trust in the Lord, OK? Always pray! God bless you, ma'am)" I gently advised our patient.

"Amen, Amen," our smiling patient then replied. That was one of the few times I saw her smile during our encounter with her.

Blogging here on this website suddenly made me remember this one question the bantay posed to me as I was advising her on prayer and healing.

After telling the bantay how to inspire our patient to pray the Rosary, she suddenly asked me: "What congregation are you in?"

I simply answered, "Nagninilay pa lang po."

"I'm still meditating."

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Saint John the Baptist and Saint Francis Xavier, pray for us.

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photo credits: http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/connecting_museums/images/kun_painting1.jpg, http://en.wikipilipinas.org/images/7/7d/San_juan_festivity1.jpg, http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/299370405_e30b5ee8b8.jpg?v=0