The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Luke 1:55-66, 80

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.

Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. John was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth, when they were thought beyond the age of having children. But God blessed them with the birth of John, cousin to Jesus. John was born six months before Jesus, and one of the explanations for Jesus’ birthday being celebrated on December 25 is that John’s feast developed first and the Church adopted the date of Christ’s birth as six months after John’s. But much of that is lost to history.

The importance of this solemnity for us, I think, is that we are always to be prepared for the coming of Christ in our lives. Whether we are dedicated to Christ already or not, Christ comes to us in various ways throughout the days, and even each day. We ought to be prepared for His coming, even to expect it, as the ancient Jews did.

Also, like John, we ought to be those who prepare the way for Christ to enter the lives of others. It is sometimes said that the greatest obstacle to people receiving Christ into their lives is the poor example of Christians. I don’t doubt it (though I don’t doubt, too, that such can be exploited as an excuse). The point is, we ought to be a witness to the coming of Christ, as John was, in the lives of all we encounter, so that when people encounter us, they leave that encounter more open more receptive to Christ.

Today is also the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the legality of abortion to the separate states. Since last year, fourteen states have adopted a full ban on abortions, another six have adopted bans after a certain number of weeks, six to twenty, and eight states have seen their attempts to ban abortions stopped by the courts, at least temporarily. In 24 states, abortion is still fully legal, often with added protections. Many states have advertised themselves as abortion sanctuaries, where women who live in states where abortion is banned can obtain an abortion. So, the bottom line is, while Dodd was a great victory for the pro-life movement and the defense of the most defenseless – namely, women in crisis pregnancies and their children – there is still a great deal of work to be done to convert the heart of the nation to the sanctity of life.

One inspirational story to mark the day is that of Dr. John Bruchalski, a physician who used to perform abortions but was converted to Christ and to “life-affirming medicine” when he heard the Blessed Virgin speaking to him at Guadelupe, and then encountered a vision of Christ at Medjugorje. I encourage you to read it and to continue to pray, work, write your legislators, and vote for that day when abortion at any stage and for any reason will be a thing of the past. God bring that day soon!

Health Update: Today I returned home after being discharged from the hospital from my fifth admission since early March. This admission was, again, for intractable nausea and vomiting and severe abdominal pain. I went to work Monday and did well. I came home and ate dinner and did my home hemodialysis, and all went well. I went to bed around 11:30pm and all was well. Then I woke up just after 5am with nausea and dry heaving. Not being in much pain at the time, and figuring sleep was the best therapy, I went back to bed. I woke at 7:45am and by eight I was in severe pain. Trying to avoid another trip to the ER, I made an appointment with my PCP. When I showed up, he immediately told me to go to the ER. Oh, well. They managed the pain, and did a bunch of tests, but were not able to find a cause for the nausea, vomiting, and pain. No blockage. No ischemia. No inflammation. No infection. No cholecystitis. Perhaps it was my body sorting itself after major surgery, I don’t know. They don’t know. Anyway, they sent me home with a stronger anti-nausea med than I had and some pain meds. Hopefully, I’ll never need either. I was hoping the bowel resection would have solved this problem. Who knows? My prayer is that this will be the last time I need to see the ER or be admitted to the hospital for GI problems. I would appreciate your prayers, too.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.