Locusts, Leather, and a Long-Awaited Voice

Reflection for Tuesday, June 24th - Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Whenever I think of St. John the Baptist, I immediately think of his camel haired garment and a leather girdle around his waist. I can’t help it. It sounds so uncomfortable and a bit odd. Then you add in his unusual diet of locusts and wild honey. What are we supposed to do with that?

Eventually, I had to ask: why these particular details? They must matter.

To a first-century Jewish audience, however, John’s clothes would have held great significance. You see, Elijah wore similar clothing.

“They answered him, “He wore a garment of haircloth, with a girdle of leather about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” 2 Kings 1:8

In the book of Malachi it was foretold, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day the Lord comes.” Malachi 4:5

It’s one of the final verses of the Old Testament, words that would linger for centuries until we open the Gospel of Matthew.

So when John appeared in the wilderness, dressed like Elijah and preaching repentance, the people around him didn’t just see a wild man, they saw a prophecy fulfilled. His clothing and message were not oddities, but signs. For a first-century Jew this wasn’t just symbolic. They would have recognized the pattern, the echo of Elijah, and known - someone is coming.

John’s appearance and mission bridged the Old and New Testaments, the promise and person of Christ.

From his miraculous birth to his wilderness cry, John’s life was a signpost, pointing not to himself, but to the One who was coming. And in a world still longing for light, his life reminds us: every voice that prepares the way matters.

So what does this mean for us today?

It’s truly something beautiful and affirming. It means that the Gospel we read each day in this space was thoughtfully and intricately prepared. That it is rooted in centuries of promise, of waiting, of signs shared through the prophets.

St. John the Baptist’s life reminds us that holiness often looks like simplicity. That the greatest movements of God are often preceded by quiet faithfulness, by wilderness seasons, by those willing to be misunderstood for the sake of truth.

And like John, we are called to prepare the way, not with fame or theatrics, but with obedience and fidelity. To be voices that point away from ourselves and towards Jesus Christ.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.

When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.

Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.

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.

The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.

Luke 1:57-66,80