Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today is the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in our liturgical calendar.

You can read the Gospel lesson from Luke chapter 1 here (under the Evening Prayer tab).

Today’s Gospel lesson points to the resumption of prophetic utterances in Israel with the conception of John, the Forerunner to Jesus. John was born to Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary the Mother of God, who was herself married to a man called Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest given the highest division of responsibility in the temple by the casting of lots.

Zechariah was in the act of Atoning for the sins of the people, who were themselves waiting outside the temple, praying at the “hour of incense.” At this most important moment, the angel Gabriel appeared next to the altar of incense, informing Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son, and that his name would be John.

Here, interestingly, Zechariah prayed for the sins of the people, and Gabriel informed him that his prayers for atonement have been answered—because his wife will bear a child. Even here, we understand the prophetic nature of John’s whole existence. He pointed toward the One who would solve the whole problem of sin, to Christ himself.

Zechariah failed to believe the angel, given that he and his wife were too old to have a child, and he was struck dumb for a time. Later in the story, when John was eight days old, he was circumcised, and his father agreed that the boy’s name should be “John,” which means “the grace of God.”

Now, as his tongue is loosed, the voice of prophecy, quite in Israel since Micah, breaks forth again, announcing God’s imminent salvation for his people.

This ‘Song of Zechariah’ is one of our morning canticles in the Anglican tradition, with many robust choral settings. Here’s a fine version by Charles Villiers Stanford, with a translation from the 1662 BCP.

Happy feast day!

—Justin