BIRTHDAY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist
My dear encountered couples:
People are tied to traditions much more than they might be aware. When Elizabeth wanted to call her newborn son by the name of John, her neighbors and relatives who wanted to name him after his father pointed out, “None of your relatives has this name.” They were disturbed that Elizabeth wanted to introduce a new name to the family. Adam and Eve certainly were lucky not to have had a bunch of traditions they were expected to stick to. They were free to start all their own.
John was not to be traditional in his life either. Some of the relatives and friends probably came to look upon him as demented. Living in the desert half dressed, eating locusts and honey. He must have flipped. They couldn’t see this was God’s will for him. John the Baptist was very courageous to carry out God’s plans instead of those of relatives and friends. You and I are to do the same. God’s will is the most important thing for us to do.
Anything we do that is not God’s will is a total waste of time. Only those things he wants are of any worth. His will is not usually clear to us, but we must never stop seeking to find it and never stop trying to do what we think is his will. Others might be very helpful in leading us to become aware of what it is God wants of us. But they can also be obstacles and lead us away from him.
Like John we must pray often, remain open, and let God fully enter our minds and hearts.
