Year A Proper 7 WEDNESDAY, 24 June 2020
Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“Names and Forerunners”
Collect: Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Luke 1:57-80.
The time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty saviour for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
“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.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
Names are important things. We wrestled long and hard to name our children. Both biblical, but neither are well known or in common usage. But for us it was the meaning.
John is a Hebrew name meaning “God is Gracious.” Beautiful. Just beautiful. Names are so important.
We are struggling as a country on names right now. At the school board here in Hanover last night there was a debate on names of schools and mascots. Names, as I have said, are important things.
I love how the friends of Elizabeth and Zechariah assumed they would go with the longstanding tradition of naming the baby after the father, or at least using a family name. They both rejected that idea. The part of the story left out in today’s reading is Zechariah’s vision in the Temple telling him he would be a father and that his son’s name was to be John. The archangel Gabriel said because he doubted, Zechariah would not be able to speak until all was fulfilled. With the birth and affirmation of the unique naming, all was fulfilled and Zechariah spoke, and prophesied at that!
We see the importance of names, but more so, the call of God is so important. John had a unique and special role. He was the Preparer of the Way, the Forerunner of the Messiah. He tilled the soil of the people’s hearts so that Jesus could harvest. This was no small task. And like many a prophet, he was killed for his efforts.
But this morning, as we look to John, let us also embrace his roles. Let us bear the importance and weight of naming. When people talk about being lucky or coincidence, maybe we through the eyes of faith see the hand of God. Will we name it in the moment? Do we dare? Often, when I find myself in those moments I may temper it a bit, “Maybe God was at work here?” or “Thank God! Wow, that is wonderful!” Naming, attributing to God, is an important role in shaping people’s perceptions.
Also, God is everywhere at work. I truly believe that. But we also are forerunners. Maybe not to the work of God, but in the opening of eyes to see with eyes of faith. When we name God as the worker, we run ahead of people’s encounter with the risen Lord. We prepare a way, for new thinking, new hope, new belief. Wow! How humbling, how wonderful.
May what was said of John be said of us as well:
“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.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Amen.
Well said. Thank you. - Richard
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