Homily for the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist - Patronal Feast of Pluscarden
24 June 2020. Luke 1:57-66,80
When her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy (Lk 1:58). It was as the Angel had said to Zechariah: Your wife is to bear you a son... He will be your joy and delight, and many will rejoice at his birth (1:13).
The joy of Elizabeth and Zechariah spread: to their whole family, then their whole village, and then the whole world. This joy continues on, even 2000 years later, and we share in it especially today. We joyfully celebrate the birthday of St. John the Baptist, because it’s inextricably connected with the birthday of Christ our Lord, occurring 6 months later. As the Angel had told our Lady, at the Annunciation: Your cousin Elizabeth is now in her 6th month, for nothing is impossible to God (1:37-38).
So John’s birthday falls on 24th June, mid summer, just at the point when the days start to grow shorter, at least in the Northern hemisphere. Each day from now on must be thought of as a count down to Christmas, when the Lord, who is God incarnate, stepped into this world of darkness to shed his light and bring his salvation.
Today’s Gospel reading moves rapidly from John’s birthday to the eighth day afterwards, the day of his circumcision and naming. Everyone presumes he will be called Zechariah, which means “God has remembered”. But no: it’s to be John. Or not so much John, as Yehoanan, which means “The Lord has been gracious”. And once that name is pronounced, in obedience and fidelity, Zechariah is able to speak. He not only speaks, he sings, as he gives us the Benedictus we sing daily at Lauds. St. John the Baptist had also of course been involved in the first ever singing of the Magnificat. Our Lady broke out into that song, according to St. Luke, when at her visit John leapt for joy in the womb of his mother (1:44).
The magnificent Introit of today’s Mass echoes our first reading from Old Testament prophecy. The passage is taken from the second Servant Song in Isaiah, Chapter 49. De ventre matris meae vocavit me Dominus - from my mother’s womb the Lord called me. What Isaiah said of the mysterious Servant so many centuries before is now wonderfully applied to John. It’s as if John himself here sings of his vocation, his predestination, and his close link with the Lord, to whom the prophecy is also applied. Posuit me sicut sagittam electam - he has placed me like a chosen arrow - to be his unerring instrument; to do his work; to pierce hearts with holy words inspired by him. John is to be a crucial, pivotal actor in the drama of salvation history. He is great, because with charismatic authority he points to Jesus; he bears witness to Jesus; he prepares a people who will be fit to receive Jesus. At the height of his ministry he mediates the baptism of Jesus; then finally he lays down his life for Jesus. John’s birthday is an event of great good news, because it foreshadows, prepares for, points towards the supremely good news of the birth of Jesus. But it’s good news for its own sake too of course, because John is among the greatest of all the Saints; the greatest of all those born of woman (Mt 11:11). It’s good news for us, because as witness to the light (Jn 1:7) John stands at the origin of our own faith. As the Baptiser of Jesus he is at the origin of our own baptism. And as powerful heavenly intercessor, he stands ever ready to help us receive the Lord, be faithful to the Lord, bear courageous witness to the Lord.
Fr. Abbot should be presiding at this Mass, and preaching this homily, because today is not only a solemnity for the whole Catholic Church, but also a patronal feast of this monastery. We inherited the dedication to St. John the Baptist, with our Lady, from our Valliscaulian forebears. It’s a very appropriate dedication, because it takes us to the heart of our monastic vocation. John was an ascetic, who lived in celibacy, and in the desert, on the edge of normal human society. He is model, inspiration and patron of monks as one whose whole life was totally dedicated to Jesus Christ. Other aspects of his career are to be imitated perhaps more by the pastors of the Church, rather than by the monks. Their pastoral duty is to preach the Gospel, even in the wilderness; to call people to repentance; to rebuke the sins and wickedness of the powerful; to refuse to be silent about God’s holy law. In our day, speaking what people do not want to hear seems to be more difficult than ever. Our own vocation is certainly an easier one, though no less crucial: simply to bear witness to Christ by our lives, by our liturgy, by our existence as a monastic community. Above all, our vocation is to praise God for his goodness; to give him glory; to rejoice in his salvation; to intercede for sinners; to live the life of the Church, at her heart.
Today then is an occasion, an opportunity for us to thank God for the existence of our community, and its communal vocation, and to ask him for all the graces we need to live that well, especially through the intercession of St. John the Baptist. Of course we would like to ask the Lord in the first place to send us good new vocations. We would like to ask for our sufficient material prosperity too, so that we can continue to maintain and build up this monastery without undue anxiety. More importantly, there are spiritual gifts and graces we need and want to ask for. May we all love humility and obedience, silence and prayer, the common life, and one another. May we all be radically turned towards Jesus Christ, and be able to reflect his light in an authentic way. May we all live and grow in God’s grace, in true holiness of life, building up one another and the whole Church. So may we be truly prepared to greet the Lord in joy, when he comes.