As a rule, the
church celebrates the feast of a saint once a year, on the anniversary of the
saint’s death, however in the case of John the Baptist we celebrate his death
as well as his birth. Why? Well, this is the church’s way of saying that he is someone
really important, and he is important for his finger. Yup![1] That's
right, his finger. Because of all the things that John the Baptist did, the
most important was what he did with his finger: he pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world. We use our finger too, but most of the time we don't point to
Jesus: we point at each other[2], and
also most of the time when we point the finger at someone is to blame him or her,
perhaps to escape of our own responsibility… since the very beginning is the same
Adam pointed his finger at Eve, and even at God Himself: The woman YOU gave me made me eat the fruit[3],
then the woman pointed her finger at the serpent... and ever since that day we use
our fingers to identify the responsible of our faults...
So, for a world
full of such finger-pointing people come the finger of John the Baptist, pointing
not to the sins of others but to the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world[4].
So, this Sunday
is a good opportunity to repent of our own finger-pointing and to begin to learn
on how to use our fingers for good, let use them for pointing others to Christ,
not for pointing out the sins of other.
Husbands and
wives: instead of pointing out what's wrong with each other, point one another
to your rings and vows and the grace of God which has bound you together.
Parents: as your
kids grow, point them to the Sacraments.
My brother, my sister:
if we have to use our fingers that would be to point one another to Christ and
to His grace and to His forgiveness[5].
Today we
remember the birth of St. John the Baptist, we celebrate that he was the one
born into this world to identify the
Christ for us. John the Baptist points to Jesus. And by pointing to Jesus, John
has identified for us the one Source of all of our hope and comfort and peace
and life and joy. John brings God's people knowledge of salvation by the
forgiveness of our sins. That is salvation: the forgiveness of sins.
Praise to be God
for the birth of St. John the Baptist! Praise God for St. John's finger, for it
points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who has taken away our
sins. Happy Nativity of St. John the Baptist Day! Amen ■
[1] An informal word for yes.
[2] Sunday 24th June, 2012, Birthday
of John the Baptist. Readings: Isaiah 49:1-6. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made—Ps 138(139):1-3, 13-15.
Acts 13:22-26. Luke 1:57-66, 80.
[3] Gen 3:12
[4] Jn 1:29
[5] For writing this homily was
inspired by a text of Rev. Mark Buetow, pastor of Bethel Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Du Quoin, Illinois. No doubt: the Spirit blows where it wants.
Ilustration: Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece (1506-1515), Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace (France).
