Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
(Mass during the day)
Readings:
Isaiah 49:1-6
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66, 80
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in the light of the New and the New Testament in the light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of
this Sunday's Readings: The Herald Who Announced the Coming of God's
Servant
The feast days of most saints remember that saint upon their
entrance into Heaven. However, three feasts in the Church celebrate births: the
nativities of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. John the Baptist. They
are the holy ones God filled with His Holy Spirit in their mothers' wombs
before their births.
In the First Reading, we hear the testimony of God's promised Servant, who declares that the LORD anointed him for divine service from his mother's womb. We also hear God's response to His Servant that he is divinely appointed to bring salvation to the faithful remnant of Israel and announce God's salvation to the Gentile nations of the earth. His mission is to return humanity to the fellowship with God that our first parents enjoyed in the Sanctuary of Eden. The Church Fathers saw the divine ministry of the Servant fulfilled in the mission of Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice on the altar of the Cross not only brought the gift of eternal salvation to the descendants of Israel but also universal salvation extended to all members of the human family.
In the Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist acknowledges that the LORD formed him from his mother's womb and cared for him during his entire life, directing the path of his life according to God's mysterious purposes and numbers himself among the many wonderful works of his Lord. This psalm, attributed to King David, could also express God's plan for the life of St. John the Baptist and his divinely appointed mission, ordained from his mother's womb according to God's divine plan.
The heart of St. Paul's message in the Second Reading is that God sent the Messiah to Israel by announcing His coming in the prophetic words and mission of John the Baptist. However, in their arrogance and ignorance, the Jewish leaders of Jesus's day failed to recognize their Messiah. As prophesied by the prophets, they unjustly condemned Him by hanging Him on a tree, the wood of a Roman Cross. But, in His mercy, God raised His Servant-Son from the dead. In Jesus, every believer in every generation of humanity has the invitation to receive God's justification by being made right with God through the sacrifice of the Redeemer-Messiah, God the Son.
The Gospel Reading reminds us that the angel Gabriel foretold the birth of John the Baptist. He told John's father, the priest, Zechariah, that God would fill the child with His Spirit from his mother's womb, and his birth would be a cause for rejoicing. Today, we obey the angel's command by rejoicing in the memory of St. John's birth. God chose St. John as the divinely appointed herald to announce the coming of the Davidic Redeemer-Messiah to the Jews (Mt 3:1-11). And it was St. John who baptized Jesus on the banks of the Jordan River in preparation for His mission to bring the gift of salvation to a fallen humanity (Mt 3:12-17; Mk 1:1-11; Lk 3:1-22; Jn 1:19-34).
The First
Reading Isaiah 49:1-6 ~ The Servant of Yahweh
1 Hear me, coastlands, listen, distant peoples. Before
birth, the LORD called me, from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword, concealed
me, shielded by his hand. He made me a sharpened arrow, in his quiver he hid
me. 3 He said to me, You are my servant, in you Israel,
I show my glory. 4 Though I thought I had toiled in
vain, for nothing and for naught spent my strength. Yet my reward is with the
LORD, my recompense is with my God. 5 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; I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God
is now my strength! 6 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.
The 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah delivered prophecies concerning Yahweh's divinely anointed Servant in four passages called the "Songs of the Servant." Isaiah presents the mysterious Servant as a prophet/Messiah with a sacred mission to fulfill a divine destiny. Isaiah 49:1-6 is the second "Song of the Servant":
All the "Servant Songs" are Messianic prophecies that give a description of God's mysterious Servant and his divinely appointed mission:
The prophecies reveal that an outpouring of the Spirit accompanies the ministry of the Servant, as God anoints him with the Holy Spirit like God's prophets, priests, and kings (Ex 29:7; Lev 8:12; 1 Sam 9:16; 10:1; 11:6; 16:1, 12-13; 1 Kng 1:39; 19:16; 2 Chr 20:14). In the first Servant's song, God addressed His future Servant, but in the second Servant's Song, in Isaiah 49:1-6, the Servant speaks about himself and his divine mission. He demands that all peoples listen to him, then the Servant describes himself and his future coming:
The Servant describes himself as set apart from his mother's womb for his mission. God will determine His Servant's destiny before his birth like other "servants" selected by God in salvation history (cf., the judge Samuel, the prophet Jeremiah, St. John the Baptist, and Jesus, Son of God, son of Mary. Significantly, God will choose his name. One's name reflected the true essence of the person. However, we are not told that name in the passage. Before their births, God named St. John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth (see Judg 13:2-5; Jer 1:4-5; Lk 1:13-17, 31-33).
2a He made my mouth a sharp-edged sword ...
The expression "like
a sharp-edged sword" emphasizes the authority of the words spoken by the
Servant. Scripture tells us: The word of God is something alive and active:
it cuts more incisively than any two-edged sword: it can seek out the place
where soul is divided from spirit, or joints from marrow; it can pass judgment
on secret emotions and thoughts (Heb 4:12 NJB). The Book of Revelation uses
similar imagery to describe the divine authority of Jesus Christ:
2b concealed me, shielded by his hand. He made me a sharpened arrow, in his quiver he hid me.
God protected His Servant until the time of his mission, hiding him among humanity like an
arrow concealed in a quiver of arrows until it was time for him to begin his ministry.
Like a "polished arrow," he would perform his mission without imperfections and
could not be turned from his divinely appointed path. The expression "concealed
me in his quiver" suggests the symbolism of God saving His chosen Servant for
just the right moment in time for the battle to win the hearts and souls of
those called to eternal salvation. Jews and Christians see this passage as a Messianic
promise, and since the earliest centuries, the Church Fathers have applied
these verses to Jesus the Messiah. Yahweh divinely appointed Jesus, as
announced to the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation. God hid His identity as the
divine Son of God in His humanity and concealed Him in His early years as He
grew up in obscurity in an insignificant village in Galilee.
In verse 3, God addressed the Servant: You are my servant, in you Israel, I show my glory.
The verse appears to identify the Servant as Israel and not as a single individual, as
suggested in verses 1-2 and 5 (this is the Jewish interpretation). However, God
may be referring to the individual Servant by using his ethnic origin as a
surname, giving the reader the information that the Servant is not Israel but "of
Israel."
Then the Servant answers, 4 Though I thought I
had toiled in vain, for nothing and for naught spent my strength. Yet my reward
is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God.
Verse 4 suggests that the Servant
was frustrated and that some opposed or thwarted his mission. However, he
trusted Yahweh despite his frustration and only sought God's reward. This verse
suggests that the Servant is an individual and not a collective. The problem
with the interpretation placed within the framework of the description of a
collective people is that it does not fit with verses 1-2 and especially verses
5-6. Those verses suggest the chosen Servant is an individual "of Israel" and
is not Israel as a collective: 5 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; I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my
strength! 6 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.
In verse 5, the Servant is speaking again, but God speaks in verse 6, adding more information about the Servant's mission:
There are other problems with interpreting the Servant as Israel. If Israel is collectively the "Servant," then in what womb was Israel formed, and how does Israel save itself and bring itself back to Yahweh? Then too, the Servant's ministry is not limited to Israel. His mission is to redeem the faithful remnant of Israel and to bring salvation to the nations of the entire world (see verses 1 and 6). Bringing Yahweh's salvation to the other peoples of the earth was a mission that old Israel never fulfilled or even sought to fulfill when God commissioned Israel as "a nation of priests" at Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:6).
There is the question of whether the Servant is King Cyrus of Persia who allowed the citizens of Judah taken into exile by the Babylonians to return to the Holy Land after seventy years living as refugees in pagan lands (2 Chron 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). However, this passage and the first Servant's Song cannot refer to Cyrus, who is not "of Israel," didn't "know" Yahweh in the sense of a covenant relationship, did not speak the "word of God," and did not bring salvation to the nations. However, Jesus of Nazareth perfectly fulfills the description of God's Servant in verses 1-2 and 4-6:
When Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the Jerusalem Temple for her purification and His dedication, according to the Law (Lev 12:6-8), the elderly prophet Simeon held baby Jesus and, filled with God's Spirit, prophesied: for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have made ready in the sight of the nations; a light of revelation for the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel (Lk 2:30-32). Saints Paul and Barnabas told the Jews who rejected their Gospel message that they were fulfilling Isaiah 49:6: For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: "I have made you a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach the remotest parts of the earth" (Acts 13:47 quoting Is 49:6). Jesus is the promised "Servant" of the Servant Song in 49:1-6. He redeemed the "new Israel" in His Apostles and disciples who became Christ's agents, commissioned to carry His Gospel message of salvation to Jews, Gentiles, and "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Therefore, Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in both Jesus and His Church.
Responsorial Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15 ~ Yahweh the All-knowing and Ever-present God
Response: I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
1b LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and when I stand;
2 you understand my thoughts from afar.
3 You shift through my travels and my rest;with all my ways you are familiar.
Response:
13 You have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
14ab I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!
Response:
14c My very self you know.
15 My bones were not hidden from you, when I was being
made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
Response:
This psalm is a meditation on Yahweh's omnipresence and omniscience. The psalmist acknowledges that the LORD has intimate knowledge concerning him, having known him since God first formed him in his mother's womb. The poetic expression in verse 15 refers to man's creation in Genesis 2:7 and suggests that man comes from the earth and will return there when his physical life ends (a href ="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3?19">Gen 3:19bc). The psalmist acknowledges that God has directed his life according to His mysterious purposes, and for this, he expresses his gratitude for being numbered among God's "wonderful" works (verse 13).
This psalm, attributed to King David (139:1), could also come from the lips of the LORD's last great prophet, St. John the Baptist. God ordained his divinely appointed mission from his mother's womb according to His divinely ordered plan. And, from his birth, God was with John, directing his life's path toward fulfilling his mission to announce the coming of the Davidic Servant-Messiah and His Kingdom.
The Second
Reading Acts 13:22-26 ~ St. Paul's Survey of Israel's History from King David
to John the Baptist
22 Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, 'I have
found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every
wish.' 23 From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has
brought [ raised up] to Israel a savior, Jesus. 24 John heralded his coming by
proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; 25 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.' 26 My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those
others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent.
[...] = literal translation of the Greek, IBGE, vol. IV, page 362.
In this passage, Paul delivered a homily to the Jewish synagogue in Antioch Pisidia that included Gentile converts to the Sinai Covenant and Gentile God-fearers (those who accepted belief in Yahweh but had not formally committed to the Old Covenant sacramental rite of circumcision (cf., Acts 10:2). In his sermon, Paul called on his fellow "Israelites" (Acts 13:16), giving them a survey of Israel's history. He began with Israel's divine election in the Exodus experience and concluded with the mission of Israel's last Old Testament prophet, St. John the Baptist. Paul focused on affirming St. John's testimony that Jesus is the promised Messiah and Davidic heir God raised from the dead to bring salvation to His people.
22 Then he removed him and raised up [egerio] David as their king; of him, he
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 [egerio, raised up] to Israel a savior, Jesus
(underlining added; [...] = literal translation).
It is a serious error that the NABRE failed to translate the verb egerio as "to raise
up" in verse 23, linking it with the same verb in verse 22. The verb egerio means "to waken, to raise
up from sleep or death, raise (again up), rear up, rise (again up)."
Paul used the words "raised up" in verses 22 and 23, referring to David's divine election by God to become Israel's king, but also as an allusion to Jesus's resurrection when God "raised up" Jesus from the dead to be Israel's new Davidic king. Jesus is the Savior of Israel. He is the One promised to secure David's throne forever in the unconditional, eternal covenant God made with King David (2 Sam 7:13-17; 23:5; 2 Chron 13:5; Ps 89:2-5; Sir 45:25) and the Davidic Redeemer-Messiah promised by the prophets (e.g., Is 11:10-12; Jer 23:5-6; Ez 34:23-24; 37:24-25).
Paul quoted and alluded to seven Old Testament passages from the Greek Septuagint translation (LXX) in his homily. His first quote in verse 22 is: I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish, which is a combination of three Old Testament passages:
The first phrase of verse 23: From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, is to remind Paul's audience of God's eternal, unconditional covenant with King David (2 Sam 7:13-17; 23:5; 2 Chron 13:5; Ps 89:2-5; Sir 45:25). In 2 Samuel 7:12, God told David through His prophet Nathan: I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm (and also in 23:1). Connecting this promise to David is Paul's reference to God who "raised up David" in verse 22 and the same verb in the next part of the verse: From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought [raised up] to Israel a savior, Jesus. Paul was declaring that Jesus is the heir of David and the "raised up" or resurrected Savior of Israel. He purposely uses the same verb to refer to Jesus's resurrection five times in 13:23, 30, 33, 34, and 37 from the Greek text.
24 John
heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of
Israel 25 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.'
St. John the Baptist was the prophet of God who announced Jesus's coming and prepared the
Old Covenant people to receive Him and His Kingdom through a baptism of
repentance (Mt 3:1). The Baptist called for a change of heart and conduct in a
turning away from one's life of rebellion to obedience towards God. Notice that
the focus is still on Israel as the intended recipient of the Messiah. The humble
statement ascribed to St. John in verse 25 combines St. John's testimony in
Luke 3:16-17 and
John 1:19 and 27.
The heart of Paul's message is that God sent the Davidic Redeemer-Messiah to Israel by announcing His coming in the prophetic words and mission of John the Baptist. However, in ignorance, Israel stubbornly failed to recognize her Messiah and unjustly condemned Him by hanging Him on a tree as prophesied by the prophets (Lk 24:25, 44). God raised Jesus from the dead, and in Him, every believer in every generation is justified (made right with God).
The Gospel Reading Luke 1:57-66, 80 ~ The Birth
of St. John the Baptist
57 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58 Her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord has shown his great mercy toward
her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 When they came on the eighth day to circumcise
the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his
mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John." 61 But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name." 62 So they made
signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63 He asked for a
tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed. 64 Immediately his
mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. 65 Then fear
came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout
the hill country of Judea. 66 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. [...] 80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the
desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
St. Elizabeth's conceiving and giving birth to St. John fulfilled the first part of the angel Gabriel's promises to Zechariah in Luke 1:13-20. There are also three other prophecies of the angel fulfilled at John's birth:
In Scripture, eight is the number signifying rebirth and salvation (see the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture"). Since the time of Abraham, circumcision was the sign of entrance into a unique covenant relationship with Yahweh. The covenant command for circumcision continued in the Sinai Covenant (Lev 12:3). The ceremony of the child's circumcision signified the child's incorporation into the covenant people of Israel and was the visible sign of an internal, spiritual condition of a "circumcised heart" in a life dedicated to God (Dt 10:16; 30:6).
63 He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed.
64 mmediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
Speech suddenly
returned to Zechariah (verse 64). His doubt had turned into faith and obedience
in giving the child the name the angel instructed him to give his son. Zechariah's
inability to speak was a sign the angel gave that all the events related to him
would come true. However, Zechariah's loss of speech and the sudden return of
his ability to speak was also a sign to his neighbors.
65 Then fear
came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout
the hill country of Judea. 66 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.
Their friends
and neighbors discerned that something of great significance was taking place
within the Zechariah family that could impact the entire covenant people. Their
question in verse 66 indicates that they expect more amazing works of God to
follow in the future. The question the neighbors asked becomes the question on
the minds of the readers of Luke's Gospel at this point in the narrative:
"What, then, will this child be?" Part of the answer to their question is in
verse 80: The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the
desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Catechism
references (* indicated Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Isaiah 49:1-6 (CCC 713*);
49:5-6 (CCC 64*)
Psalm 139:15 (CCC 376, 400, 1008, 1609, 2270)
Luke 1:57-66, 80 (CCC 523*, 696*, 716*, 717*, 718*, 724, 2684*)
John the Baptist is the Lord's forerunner (CCC 523*)
John is "Elijah (who) must come," fulfilling Malachi's prophecy (CCC 718*)
In John, the Holy Spirit concludes His speaking through the prophets (CCC 719*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2018; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.