THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST (SOLEMNITY)

No. He will be called John.

Do you think God’s will happens automatically? If so, think again. Consider that Elizabeth’s relatives assumed her son would be named Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth sensed something different: the Lord had a special calling for this child and wanted his name to be John. It might have been easier to go along with the family and ignore this prompting. But she didn’t. Her no to her relatives was a yes to God and paved the way for his will to unfold.

Something similar happened in John’s life. Leaving his family to go live in the desert, wearing camel’s hair, and eating locusts may not have been the life he had imagined for himself. Confronting the people of Israel with their need for repentance was probably not all that easy for him. But John kept saying no to his own will and yes to God’s will because he knew that God had given him a specific mission. He knew that God would give him the grace he needed to live out that mission. That’s what fueled John’s yes each time.

It’s what can fuel our yes to God too. Each one of us is called to play a part in building God’s kingdom. Every time you follow John’s example and say no to your own preferences, you are saying yes to something better from God. Every time you listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you are fulfilling your call. Your little acts of surrender, your seemingly insignificant yeses to God along the way help bring about God’s will in your life and in the people around you. Taken together, they steer you toward a bigger yes as you begin to understand and pursue the mission he has for your life.

God’s will doesn’t happen automatically. He wants us to work with him to make it happen. That’s why he needed Elizabeth’s no to her relatives. That’s why he needed each yes from John the Baptist. And that’s why he needs you to try your best to say yes to him in the big or small choices that you face every day.

“Lord, help me to say yes to you every moment of the day!”

Isaiah 49:1-6
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66, 80

WORD AMONG US