SANCTIFIED IN THE WOMB

THE BIRTHDAY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, SOLEMNITY

Isa 49:1-6; Ps 139:1-3,13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66,80

The Forerunner of the Way

We celebrate the birth of John the Baptist as a solemnity. John is one of the few who enjoy the privilege of a solemn birthday celebration. It is a privilege shared with our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The honour is given to him because he was sanctified in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, and born without sin like Jesus Christ our Lord and his mother, Mary. The honour is not a merit award but rather a show of God’s munificent blessings and love for man. God created man to share in the glory of the Godhead. The agreement of the Holy Trinity to make man in the image of God and his likeness implies this honour. To be like God, we need to know the truth and choose the good in freedom and love. The ability to choose freely defines the divine image in us; as rational creatures, it is necessary to come to the knowledge of truth to be able to operate our gift of freedom properly. The wrong choice of our first parents has destroyed our God-given freedom to choose truth and biased our rational faculty against the truth, which we find in the word of God. Hence, God’s gift of faith to Abraham and all, to make a fresh start towards communion with the Trinity. The general gift of faith and every other special gift God gives to men is to aid all men to come to the inheritance God destined for us before the foundation of the earth.

The gift of faith to the unborn John the Baptist and his sanctification in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, is one of such unique gifts given to a person to serve the cause of human salvation. The prophet Isaiah spoke of this privilege. “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.” The prophecy clearly states that these privileges of faith and other spiritual gifts are unmerited by those who receive them; likewise, our spiritual life and accompanying graces are given gratis to us. They are all based on the merit of the divinely planned condescension of the Eternal Word of God in human flesh. In this understanding, all those called for special privilege and all of us called to salvation in Jesus Christ are foreknown by God, made and used as instruments and end of salvation. The Psalmist testifies to that: “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.” The foreknowledge of God does not remove our free will. His gifts, which accompany his foreknowledge of us, do not hamper but enhance our freedom to choose and live the truth. He rewards us for our cooperation with his graces and allows the consequence of our refusal to cooperate to befall us.

The lives of David and Saul, his predecessor, illustrate the reward of cooperation and the consequence of refusal. Saul was unplugged from the salvation machinery by his disobedience to the word of God. David, on the other hand, cooperated and became a part of it; likewise, John the Baptist, we are celebrating his birth today. He faithfully played his part and gave way to the author of our salvation. “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.” From the womb, John had his eyes and interest fixed on the Son of Man and consecrated his life in obedience to the will of God for him. He fulfilled his role as the Forerunner to the Saviour. God sanctified him in the womb, and he cooperated with the sanctifying grace and consecrated himself to the truth of the word of God until his death. The single-minded consecration constitutes his greatness in the history of human salvation. The presence of God remained with him through life, as the Gospel testified. “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.” Our spiritual birth in Jesus Christ is greater than that of John, for our spirit is Jesus Christ himself within us. Let us praise God for our new birth in Christ and for the gift of John the Baptist, who faithfully served as the steward of our life of grace.

Let us pray: O God, who raised up Saint John the Baptist to make ready a nation fit for Christ the Lord, give your people, we pray, the grace of spiritual joys and direct the hearts of all the faithful into the way of salvation and peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.