DAILY- HOMILY

JUNE 24, 2009
SOLEMNITY, NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
WEDNESDAY 12TH WEEK ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

ISAIAH 49:1-6
Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me
from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a
sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made
me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he
said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I
had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet
my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. For now the
LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob
may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made
glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It
is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the
tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you
a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the
earth.

ACTS 13:22-26
In those days, Paul said: "God raised up David as king; of him God
testified, I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish. From this man's descendants God,
according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John
heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the
people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say,
`What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming
after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.' "My
brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those others among you
who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent."

LUKE 1:57-66, 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.

REFLECTION
During his time, John was seen by many as greater than Jesus. John was
known as the Predecessor whose birth was prophesied by an angel. He
was considered a reincarnation of Elijah. He drew a much larger crowd
and baptized as many as 10,000 in a day. John already had his own
disciples even before Jesus started his own public life. Simon Peter
was originally a disciple of John. So was Peter's brother, Andrew.

However, with the primacy of Jesus, John immediately gave way to him.
When John's disciples began to doubt his leadership because of Jesus,
John explained that "He had to increase I had to decrease." Then John
asked his disciples to join together with the disciples of Jesus. Upon
seeing Jesus, John right away said "Behold the Lamb of God." Jesus in
turn replied "No other sons of women were greater than him." Jesus
allowed John to baptize him not because he needed forgiveness but
because it was a gesture of humility.

John is the saint we all can turn to when we are experiencing anxiety,
anguish and doubt. John himself experienced doubt and questioned
himself regarding his failure in his mission and if he had endorsed
the wrong messiah. But John overcame his misgivings, eventually
becoming one of the most important figures in our church history.

All of us have tendencies to teach and preach; to be precursors or
baptizers. However, we need to remember that Jesus is our final and
common destination.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Lisa
… for the special intentions: San Juan de Dios Hospital
… for the personal intentions of Enrique L Navarro and Eufrocina
Navarro
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Juana Galvez Santos Ocampo
- Birthday: Sandra Reyes-Morgan
- In Memoriam (+): Ma. Del Carmen F. Bate
… for the healing and peace of all families

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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