LECTIO DIVINA Luke 1:57-66, 80 The Nativity of St. John the Baptist Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC

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1 Page 1 of 12 LECTIO DIVINA Luke 1:57-66, 80 The Nativity of St. John the Baptist Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC 1) OPENING PRAYER: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever 2) READING OF THE WORD (What the Word says): Luke 1:57-66, When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said in reply, No. He will be called John. 61 But they answered her, There is no one among your relatives who has this name. 62 So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63 He asked for a tablet and wrote, John is his name, and all were amazed.

2 Page 2 of Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. 65 Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 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. 80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. 3) EXPLANATION (What the Word means): Allusions to the Births of Isaac, John the Baptist and Jesus The allusions in this story to the births of Isaac, John, and Jesus are many: Isaac: Sarai was barren. She had no child (Genesis 11:30). John: But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren (Luke 1:7 Jesus: He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32). John: And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76). Isaac: Don t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield (Genesis 15:1). John: Don t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard (Luke 1:13). Jesus: Don t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God (Luke 1:30). Isaac: Now Sarai, Abram s wife, bore him no children (Genesis 16:1). John: But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren (Luke 1:7).

3 Page 3 of 12 Isaac: As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:4). John: To remember his holy covenant, the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father (Luke 1:72-73). Isaac: He who is eight days old will be circumcised among you (Genesis 17:12). John: On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father (Luke 1:59). Jesus: When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus (Luke 2:21). Isaac: I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her (Genesis 17:16). John: Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John (Luke 1:13). Jesus: Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name Jesus' (Luke 1:31). Isaac: Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth? (Genesis 17:17). John: How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years (Luke 1:18). Isaac: Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age (Genesis 21:2). John: Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son (Luke 1:57). Isaac: The child grew, and was weaned (Genesis 21:8). John: The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit (Luke 1:80). Jesus: The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit (Luke 2:40). The Context Luke s Gospel (except for a brief introduction addressed to Theophilus) begins with an account of an angel of the Lord appearing to Zechariah foretelling the birth of John (vv. 5-24).

4 Page 4 of 12 conceiving and remaining in seclusion (v. 24). In that account, the angel tells Zechariah to name the baby John (v. 13) and says that the son must never drink wine or strong drink (v. 15). The angel promises that the son will be filled with the Holy Spirit and will have a powerful ministry (vv ). Zechariah asks how he will know that this is so, for he and his wife are elderly (v. 18), and the angel strikes him mute for not believing (v. 20). That account tells of Elizabeth That account is followed immediately by the angel visitation to Mary foretelling the birth of Jesus (vv ), Mary s visit to Elizabeth (vv ), and Mary s song of praise - usually known today as the Magnificat (vv ). The births and lives of John and Jesus are intertwined from the beginning: An angel foretells the birth of John to Zechariah (1:5-25),

5 Page 5 of 12 and then an angel foretells the birth of Jesus to Mary (1:26-38). The pregnant Mary visits the pregnant Elizabeth, and Elizabeth s child leaps for joy at Mary s greeting (1:39-45). Mary s song of praise, commonly known as the Magnificat (1:46-56) is followed by

6 Page 6 of 12 the birth of John (1:57-66) and Zechariah s joyful prophecy, commonly known as the Benedictus (1:67-79). John grows strong (1:80). Then Jesus is born (2:1-7) and increases in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (2:52). John proclaims a Baptism of repentance for remission of sins (1:77; 3:3) and calls people to Bear fruits worthy of repentance (3:8-14). He then baptizes Jesus (3:21-22), who will also call people to repent (5:32; 13:3, 5).

7 Page 7 of 12 v.57: When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. We have not heard from Zechariah since he went home after becoming mute (vv ), and we will not hear from him again until the people seek his opinion about the baby s name (v. 63). v.58a: Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, Based on v. 24 and this verse, some scholars suggest that the baby s birth has come as a surprise to these neighbors and relatives. However, her seclusion was only for five months (v. 24), and this verse is thin evidence that Elizabeth maintained a secret of her pregnancy until the end. v.58b: and they rejoiced with her. This is a natural response on the part of neighbors and relatives who knew how painfully Elizabeth had suffered her barrenness. It also fulfills the angel s promise, You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth (v. 14). v.59a: When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, God commanded both Abraham and Moses to circumcise male babies when they are eight days old (Genesis 17:9-14; Leviticus 12:3). see also v. 6). John s circumcision, while routine, nevertheless marks Zechariah and Elizabeth as faithful in their observance of Jewish law. That is to be expected, of course, given that Zechariah is a priest (v. 5;

8 Page 8 of 12 v.59b: they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, Names were important in that culture, and they were supposed to embody something of the importance or character of the person, or to make some sort of statement, or to express some sort of faith. The naming of a child would normally be a parental function, but these neighbors and relatives try to influence this naming to honor Zacharias by naming the child after him. It would be unusual to name a son after his father, because sons are usually known by their given name plus son of their father s name, as in Simon, son of Jonah (Matthew 16:17). If Elizabeth were to name the baby Zechariah, he would be known as Zechariah, son of Zechariah, an awkward phrasing (Stein, 97). These neighbors and relatives are willing to ignore that problem to honor Zechariah, probably out of their pity at his muteness. v.60: but his mother said in reply, No. He will be called John. The angel told Zechariah to name the baby John (v. 13). While Zechariah has been unable to speak, he apparently communicated this angelic command to Elizabeth, probably in writing (see v. 63). Elizabeth is faithful to the angelic command and refuses to be influenced by her neighbors and relatives, who are well-meaning but ignorant of the command. The name John comes from the Hebrew, yohanan, which means Yahweh is gracious, and her choice of a name could simply reflect her appreciation at having a son in her old age. v.61: But they answered her, There is no one among your relatives who has this name. The neighbors and relatives are surprised at Elizabeth s choice, because she has not chosen to name the baby after a member of the family. v.62: So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. They motion to Zechariah, as if he is deaf as well as mute. We have no evidence that he is deaf aside from this verse. People often assume that a mute person cannot hear, which is often but not always the case. That seems to be what is happening here.

9 Page 9 of 12 v.63a: He asked for a tablet and wrote, John is his name, There is no reason to assume that Zechariah has not told Elizabeth of the angelic command to name the child John. He could have done that by writing on a tablet. Neither is there any reason to believe that Zechariah has not overheard the conversation between the neighbors and Elizabeth. v.64a: and all were amazed. endorses his wife s choice of names. But the neighbors, knowing nothing about the angelic command, are amazed that Zechariah The fact that both Elizabeth and Zechariah are in such firm agreement surprises them. They would understand this birth to aged parents to be a special blessing from God. Perhaps they also understand the baby s name as another spiritual event, which of course it is. v.64: Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. When Zechariah is faithful to the angelic command to name the baby John, the curse of muteness that began with his unbelief is immediately lifted. Zechariah s first speech is to praise God a mark of his faithfulness a faithfulness that was first mentioned in v.6.

10 Page 10 of 12 v.65a: Then fear came upon all their neighbors, Fear is a common response to the miraculous in this Gospel: 1:12; 5:26; 7:16; 8:36. v.65b: and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. They talk about these things, because they perceive God s hand in this baby s birth and the parents choice of a name. For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. v.66: All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, What, then, will this child be? What then will this child be? is the key question. It will be many years before John begins his ministry, but these people already perceive that they can expect something special from him. v.80a: The child grew and became strong in spirit, Like so many things that Luke writes about John, this verse parallels what he has to say about Jesus: The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him (Luke 2:40). And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). v.80b: and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. John will be known later for preaching in the wilderness (3:4), but this verse tells us of his connection with the wilderness at an early age. The people of Israel have a special relationship to the wilderness (a desert wilderness rather than a forest wilderness). It was in the wilderness that God tested the people and it was in the wilderness that they rebelled. It was in the wilderness that God saved them again and again, and the wilderness was the crucible where they became a nation.

11 Page 11 of 12 The wilderness was a place where people sinned and where they also repented to restore their relationship with God. 4) MEDITATION (What the Word suggests to me): a) We read the Word again. b) Select the word or a brief phrase which touched you or impressed you. Repeat this word/phrase aloud and slowly 3 times. Between each repetition allow a moment of silence for the Word to penetrate into our hearts. c) We will remain silent for a few minutes, and let the Lord speak to us. d) We now share what the Lord has given us in this word. We avoid discussions or sermons or comments on what others have said. We share what the Lord has told us personally by using such expressions as, To me this word has said 5) QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION (What the Word asks me): a) Do I see in Jesus the fulfillment of all my desires and expectations? b) Where do I recognize the Lord s great mercy in my life? c) Do I give thanks and praise to God for what happens in my every day life? d) How can I continue growing in spirit? 6) WORD OF LIFE (What the Word reminds me): The Lord had shown his great mercy 7) ACTION (What the Word invites me to do): I will do something concrete for poor children and single mothers in my neighborhood. 8) PRAYER (What the Word makes me pray): PSALM 139 I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. O LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and when I stand; You understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. My soul also you knew full well; nor was my frame unknown to you

12 Page 12 of 12 When I was made in secret, when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth. And may the blessing of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon us and with us remain forever and ever.