John is his name

We have put up the painting of "The Naming of John The Baptist" by Fra Angelico. In today's Gospel reading Luke 1:57-66 we are told that when it came time for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Everyone thought that they would name him Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth said, "No, He will be called John" The Advent season begins with the Gospel's telling of John the Baptist, the odd character who wore camel hair and ate locust and wild honey. Recall too, that John the Baptist was actually the first person to recognize Jesus in the world "when he leaped for joy" in Elizabeth's womb. I wonder what babies did when they heard the President-Elect tell Pastor Warren that he quote " deferred to a higher pay grade "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3F7ZkoIeNM but I digress...
John of course was preparing the way for Our Lord's arrival. He was preaching of repentance and making straight our paths. The Church in her wisdom goes back to John the Baptist reminding us that although the day nears that we are yet to repent and prepare. We reflect on one birth looking towards the birth of the Word Incarnate. In today's meditation from the Magnificat Father Julian Carron, a professor of theology at the University of Milan writes in a piece called "The Baptist is Born to Help Us Beg for Christ" The true protagonist of history is the beggar. If we wish to live this moment as protagonists, that is, without being formal, by following the manner in which we are educated, each of us must become, or better recognize what he is: a beggar" " It is easy : each of us must realize his need. The beggar is the one who is aware of his own human need."

John remind us to be willing to accept and welcome everything that will be given to us on Christmas morning.