St. John the Baptist’s feastday today, one of two for him, is a celebration of his birth into this world. His other feastday (August 29th) is the anniversary of his martyrdom and death. Besides Jesus the Lord and His mother Mary, St. John the Baptist is the only person in our tradition whose birth and death are celebrated on the Church’s calendar.
We say this with tongue in cheek: we have six months of shopping until Christmas! As of today, there are, indeed, six months before celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th. Did you know that recalling Jesus’ birth at Christmas coincides more or less with the winter solstice? Just as the light of the sun begins to make a comeback after winter’s darkness has reached its peak, we celebrate the birth of the Light of the world.
The birthday of St. John the Baptist, in contrast, is recalled just after the summer solstice. This too is symbolic, for as the light of the sun begins to decrease after reaching its peak, we celebrate the birth of the one who said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
A question was asked in St. Luke’s Gospel by the neighbors and relations of St. John’s parents: “What will this child turn out to be?” It is a question that could be asked of any of us. It is a question that could be asked about any of us at any stage of our lives, “What will we turn out to be?” An even better question would be, “What does God want us to be?”
