Today we keep the Feast of the Birthday of Saint John the Baptist. Cousin of Jesus and the one who ‘prepared the way’ for Jesus’ Mission and Teaching. We only keep the Birthdays of three people during the Church year - Jesus (December 25th), Mary (September 8th) and today, June 24th, John the Baptist. This hopefully helps us realise what an important person John is – he is, if you like, the link between the Old and the New Testaments – a Prophet in the style of the Prophets of the Old Covenant, but the one who ‘baptised’ Jesus - who brings the ‘new and eternal Covenant’ in his very self.
The Liturgy of the Church uses words spoken about John the Baptist in Morning Prayer each day. The prayer the Benedictus (Blessed be...) was spoken by Zechariah, John’s Father’ at his birth... so they are very suitable for today and could perhaps find a place in your Morning Prayers each day:
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty Saviour for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
(Luke Chapter 1 verses 68-79 )
