A Horn Raised Up

Luke 1:57-66 The Birth of John the Baptist

Now Elizabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him by his father’s name, Zachary. And his mother answered and said, ‘Not so, but he shall be called John.’ And they said to her, ‘There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.’ And they kept inquiring by signs of his father what he would have him called. And asking for a writing-tablet he wrote the the words, ‘John is his name.’ And they marveled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were spoken abroad in all the hill country of Judea. And all who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the Lord was with him.” (Lk 1:57-66 CB)

The title of this reflection is taken from the canticle of Zachary that immediately follows this Gospel reading from Luke. When reflecting on the words of the Gospels, context, as we all know, is helpful in bringing forth a larger picture, thus a greater understanding of the Gospel reading itself. Not only does Luke’s writing present to us a very clear sequence of events detailing the holy journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem, but he also focuses historically on concepts of past prophecy, symbols and Biblical foreshadowing within the idea of salvation. For example, Zachary, who can now speak, is glorifying God’s gift of such a special son with an important mission, referring to John as a “horn of salvation for us.”(Lk 1:69) This idea of a “horn” (a symbol of strength and power) is taken directly from Psalm 131:17 which proclaims, “…a horn to sprout forth for David.” Although this is a pre-figuring of Christ spoken of by the prophets, we must remember that John the Baptist too, is most certainly a “Christ-like” figure. We grasp the specialness attributed to John by both Elizabeth’s and Zachary’s obedience to the angel of the Lord in naming him “John,” despite the custom of the time to be named after the father. Yet, as we see the miracle of Zachary’s speech restored to him immediately after he writes the name John on his writing tablet, those in vicinity now also knew of the specialness of the child who would grow to become John the Baptist.

It was mentioned earlier that the sequence of events was an attribute of Luke’s writing. For further context then, we can see in the beginning of Chapter 1, an order presented to us: the Annunciation of the Baptist, followed by the Annunciation of the Savior. Then we have today’s Gospel reading: “The Birth of the Baptist,” and subsequently “The Birth of Jesus,” beginning in Chapter Two of Luke’s Gospel. But more is stressed here than just mere sequence or a writing style especially considering the distinction in the headings of the chapter sections. First comes the one who baptizes, then the one who saves. Notice too, that although John was born six months previously, this story is presented to us in Christmastide of the Liturgical year. This is all because John the Baptist’s sublime mission is leading the way towards the coming of Christ. For he is the gateway between the old and new, the culmination of the greatest of prophets and priests, who would one day pull the people of God into His fold through water baptism, preparing the people of Israel for the coming of “He who was and is to come.” (ref. Apocalypse 1: 8)

In the closing line of this Gospel section, we have the question asked, “What then will this child be?” (Lk 1:66) We have all heard the famous Christmas song, “What Child is this?” And although we know that this song was referring to Jesus, the same sentiment, however, was within those who witnessed the birth of St. John the Baptist. A messianic figure was now upon them as a holy fear betook them! This passage thus, opens up the idea of possibilities for the faithful witnesses—they could intuit that there was something deeper happening here. On one hand, God’s promises to David were seeming to be fulfilled, yet on the other, this Gospel section is a prelude to a subsequent, deeper understanding, by which John the Baptist would point them towards a Divine messiah—not merely a political savior, but rather one that can forgive sin unto eternal salvation, as only God can; One who will baptize, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit.

*Above painting: “The Birth of St. John the Baptist,” by Andrea Sacchi c. 1639-1645. Image from pixels.com