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, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they
made signs to his father for the name he wanted to give him. 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 hill country 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; and he lived in the desert until the day when he appeared
openly in Israel.

Reflect

“The Lord is gracious.” John the Baptist, the precursor of our Lord Jesus, was born in spite
of the unfavorable conditions surrounding Zechariah and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was barren.
Both of them were already old. The Gospel for today narrates the birth of John the Baptist
and his consequent naming. The people in their neighborhood wished to name him Zechariah.
To name a child after the father’s name was one of the most common things to do at
that time. However, Elizabeth and Zechariah insisted that the child’s name be John. The
name John means “the Lord is gracious.” Zechariah means “the Lord has remembered.”
Elisabeth may mean “the promise of my God.” The Lord always remembers to fulfill his
promise. We may reflect on the kind of life God wants us to have. With the Lord Jesus,
whose way John the Baptist prepared, the gracious life with God now becomes accessible
to all of us. Furthermore, we are now given an assurance that no matter how unfavorable
conditions surrounding our present life, God will remember to fulfill his promise, penetrating
our life like “daybreak from on high” (Lk. 1:78).

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