THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (JUNE 24TH)

A Contemporary Greek Icon of St. John the Baptist

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

Today, we celebrate the blessed birth of St. John the Baptist, Cousin and Forerunner of the Christ, the Last Prophet, and the Herald of the Kingdom of God. 

St. John was born of the priest Zacharias and the cousin of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Elizabeth. St. John recognized the Christ child while still in the womb, when he kept for joy when he heard the voice of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was born to angelic prophecy, the prophecy of his father, and was dedicated to God as a Nazarite, eating no flesh and drinking no wine, wholly dedicated to God’s service from birth. At a young age, he was filled with the Spirit, withdrew to the desert, and ate locusts and wild honey, wearing a camel skin for clothing. He fortold Christ’s coming, baptized for repentance, and was the first to recognize Christ as fully God and fully man at the beginning of His earthly ministry. When Jesus was baptized by St. John in the Jordan, the worship of the Holy Trinity was revealed, and the voice of the Father witnessed His divinity, and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him. Thus, St. John the Baptist has always been revered in Christianity as the greatest of all the prophets, because it was through his ministry that the most important truth about God was made known to the world - His Triune Being and Godhead! 

A 16th Century Orthodox Icon of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

SCRIPTURE READING (LUKE 1:68-79) 

“Then Zacharias prophesied and said: Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Panel with the Birth of St. John the Baptist from Retable, Domingo Ram, 15th century

COLLECT 

ALMIGHTY GOD, by whose providence Your servant St. John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of Your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke sin, and patiently suffering for the Your sake; and may St. John the Baptist intercede for us in heaven, that we may be held by his holy prayers and do all such good works as You have called us to do; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever One God, unto ages of ages. Amen.