The Birth of John the Baptist: “Zachariah wrote, His Name is ‘John’.” Painting by Jacopo Pontormo, 1526, USA
Celebration at Zechariah’s Home and Naming of the Baby
The Scriptures invite us to a celebration at Zechariah’s home. It’s time to name his newborn boy and perform the baby’s circumcision. You can imagine yourself as one of the neighbors who has come to help name the baby born to the old couple, the priest Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. What would you say? Maybe this: “The boy is a miracle baby! What a blessing from the Lord for Elizabeth! Shockingly, Zechariah has been muted since the last time he served in the temple. I wonder if he will ever recover his speech.”
Zechariah’s tongue is freed
Today, we will cover these points: (1) John’s circumcision, (2) the neighbors choosing the name Zechariah to honor his father, (3) Zechariah wrote, “his name is John” and immediately, his tongue was freed, (4) Zechariah praises God for the promises that will be fulfilled in His son John and the coming of the Messiah, and (5) we can pray the Benedictus with joy every day of Advent.
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The episode is based on a chapter from my book: The Joy of Advent: Journey with the People, Events and Prayers at the First Coming of Jesus Christ.
For bookmarks or prayer points from The Joy of Advent Podcast series, go to: WRAPYourselfinJOY.com.
