20210624 THE INEXORABLE PLAN OF GOD FOR HUMANITY
24 June, 2021, Thursday, The Nativity of John the Baptist
First reading | Isaiah 49:1-6 © |
I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth
Islands, listen to me,
pay attention, remotest peoples.
The Lord called me before I was born,
from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.
He made my mouth a sharp sword,
and hid me in the shadow of his hand.
He made me into a sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel)
in whom I shall be glorified’;
while I was thinking, ‘I have toiled in vain,
I have exhausted myself for nothing’;
and all the while my cause was with the Lord,
my reward with my God.
I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
my God was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
to gather Israel to him:
‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;
I will make you the light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 138(139):1-3,13-15 © |
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
Already you knew my soul,
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret
and moulded in the depths of the earth.
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
Second reading | Acts 13:22-26 © |
Jesus, whose coming was heralded by John
Paul said: ‘God deposed Saul and made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”
‘My brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of salvation is meant for you.’
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk1:76 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
As for you, little child, you shall be called
a prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:57-66,80 © |
'His name is John'
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.
Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit matured. And he lived out in the wilderness until the day he appeared openly to Israel.
THE INEXORABLE PLAN OF GOD FOR HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isa 49:1-6; Ps 139:1-3,13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80]
What is becoming of the world, we wonder! For those of us who were born in the Baby Boomer generation or earlier still, or even those from Generation X, who hold traditional and conservative values, where technology and mass communication was not so advanced, we often find ourselves bewildered and frightened at the way society has developed. From a traditional understanding of marriage and family life to one that is radically redefined, moral values are put in question by moral relativists. Today, we live in a very secularized society where there are no values, no objectivity in truth, a society that lives only for itself and for today. In an age of technology, artificial intelligence, without ethics to guide its use, humanity will destroy not just the planet, which we call mother earth, and itself.
Yet, before we think that God’s plan for humanity has been derailed and destroyed, the scripture readings on the Birthday of John the Baptist assure us that the divine plan of God would remain in place. Man may delay its coming but no man can stop the plan of God from unfolding. Humanity will be saved and be restored. This was how the Israelites felt in the first reading. When all hopes were lost, God promised His people that they would be restored. He will send His servant “to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel” and make them “the light of the nations” so that His “salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Who is this servant? It could refer to Isaiah himself, or to the Messiah that was to come. It could also refer to Israel as a nation. Regardless, all of us are in the plan of God; not only great people, whether it was the prophets, the Kings, the Messiah or John the Baptist. The prophet said, “The Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name. He made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in his quiver.” Indeed, in our mother’s womb, God has already destined the role we are to play in the history of salvation. Like Jesus who was called to be the light of the nations, as Simeon prophesied, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Lk 2:32), John the Baptist was called to be the forerunner for the Messiah, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” (Lk 1:76ff) We too, each in our own way are called to fulfill the place and role that God has assigned to us in His plan of salvation.
But this calls for faith and obedience because God’s plan would be unfolded in ways beyond our imagination. Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of God “is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mk 4:30-32) It took Zechariah some time to know that the plan of God does not fit into the plan of man or his finite mind. He could not believe that a child could be born to him and Elizabeth at such an advanced age. He was proven wrong and so the Lord silenced him. He was made not just deaf but mute as well, as signified by the fact that when the child was born, they had to make “signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called.” Zechariah was struck dumb and deaf so that he could spend nine months in silence, contemplating on the Word of God. He had been a righteous and law-abiding Jew but lacked openness to the surprising ways by which God works His salvation.
Hence, when John the Baptist was born, both Elizabeth and Zechariah were under pressure to follow the norm. “They were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished.” Indeed, both of them went against social custom and their pressure. But this was because both had understood the plan of God better and indeed, John the Baptist did not belong to them but to God and His people. To name the child, John, which means the Gift of God or that God is gracious, implied that God had a great plan for John the Baptist. The people could of course only wonder. “All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ And indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew up and his spirit matured. And he lived out in the wilderness until the day he appeared openly to Israel.”
The surprising way God works in our lives and in the way He unfolds His divine plan is beyond man’s conception and logical calculation. The parallel to the birth of John the Baptist of course is the virginal conception of Mary. Their birth was quite similar in that it was announced by an angel. Both were miraculous, especially in the case of Mary’s conception of Jesus; it was ridiculously impossible. Both births gave great joy. In the case of Jesus, even the angels rejoiced. In the mind of the evangelist Luke, John the Baptist’s birth was exceptional, but Christ’s birth was even greater. Elizabeth learnt her lesson as well. Rephrasing the words of the angel when he told Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37) Elizabeth said, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45)
We, too, are called to believe and submit in obedience to God’s plan in our lives. This was what the Lord did. St Paul in the second reading outlined the fulfillment of God’s plan in Jesus as announced by John the Baptist. “To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel.” Jesus was the One prepared by God for the salvation of humanity. But it was John the Baptist who in God’s plan was to prepare the way. He was to be the New Elijah that would come again before the Messiah came. (Mt 11:7-14; Mal 4:5f) Of course, he was not Elijah reincarnated, but he took the role of Elijah, for at his birth, after the last prophet Malachi, prophecy was silenced for 400 years. So when Zechariah spoke at John the Baptist’s birth, it signaled the beginning of the New Era or the New Testament.
John was to prepare the people to receive the Lord. He was contented with that role. He was not seeking for power and glory but simply to do what God had planned for him. When asked by the Jewish leaders, “Who are you?” He denied that he was the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet. He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.” His task was just like that of the prophets, to call the people out of exile. In the wilderness, a symbol of prayer and repentance, John prepared the people to welcome the Lord. John the Baptist in no uncertain terms said, “‘I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.’ You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but I have been sent ahead of him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:28-30)
Consequently, instead of worrying about the outcome of salvation, we are called simply to do our part. Sometimes, things seem hopeless and futile. This is where the Lord assures us as He did for the Suffering Servant. “He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel) in whom I shall be glorified; while I was thinking, I have toiled in vain, I have exhausted myself for nothing; and all the while my cause was with the Lord, my reward with my God. I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, my God was my strength.'” Indeed, the Lord knows everything. “O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you.” So like Zechariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist, we entrust our lives to Him and simply cooperate with His inexorable plan for our salvation.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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