Nourished by the sweet word of God
The Lord created us with the gifts to accomplish a specific mission
By Lou Occhi
The Lord called [David] from birth and gave him a name in his mother’s womb. Throughout his young life, he was prepared to be a servant of the Lord. The Lord gave him a sharp tongue and made him like a polished arrow hidden in His quiver. The Lord told Isaiah that he is My servant through whom he will show His glory.
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Isaiah 49:1-6
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66,80
Psalm 139 tells us to praise the Lord, for we are wonderfully made. It tells us He knows when we sit and when we stand, He understands our thoughts, He formed our innermost being, and He knit us in our mother’s womb. The rest of the readings tell us that there are specific reasons for our creation.
The second reading from the Acts of the Apostles reminds the reader that the Lord raised up David to be a king. The story of David, 1040-885 BC, is told in 1 Samuel 16. The Lord tells Samuel to stop grieving that He rejected Saul from being king of Israel. Samuel is sent to Jesse, a Bethlehemite, and the Lord has provided for Himself a king among his sons. Samuel is frightened because Saul will have him killed if he hears about this.
The Lord instructs Jesse to take a heifer to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. When he gets there, he is to invite Jesse and his sons to participate in the sacrifice. He is then asked to select the son I name and anoint him with oil. Samuel looked at six of Jesse’s sons, but none of them were the ones selected by the Lord. So, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons. Jesse responded that he had one more who was tending the sheep. Samuel told Jesse to bring him. When David arrived, Samuel anointed him because he was the one chosen by the Lord.
In the first reading, Isaiah, 680-640 BC, relates that the Lord called him from birth and gave him a name in his mother’s womb. Throughout his young life, he was prepared to be a servant of the Lord. The Lord gave him a sharp tongue and made him like a polished arrow hidden in His quiver. The Lord told Isaiah that he is My servant through whom he will show His glory.
As Isaiah grew older, he thought that he had toiled in vain, and, for nothing, uselessly spent his strength. Then the Lord spoke to him and explained that he was formed in his mother's womb to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel, but that is not enough. Later on, the Lord will make a light to the nations that His salvation will reach the ends of the earth. This is interpreted to be a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.
The Gospel of Luke tells the story of John the Baptist’s birth. Elizabeth and Zechariah were old and childless. Through the mercy of God, Elizabeth became pregnant, and her neighbors and relatives rejoiced with her. On the eighth day after the birth of the child, they all gathered for the rite of circumcision. All were convinced that the child would be named Zechariah after his father.
When they asked Elizabeth what the child would be called, she said “John.” They turned to Zechariah and asked him about the name. He wrote on a tablet that the child will be called John. Zechariah had been mute from the day Elizabeth had become pregnant. Immediately, his voice returned, and he began praising God. The story of John’s birth spread throughout Judea. The people took all this to heart and said, “What then will this child be? For surely, the hand of the Lord was with him.” From the story of John’s birth, we see the Lord chose John for a special mission. The mission is to prepare the way of the Lord.
Isaiah, David, and John were chosen for specific missions. Isaiah was to raise up the tribes of Jacob, restore the survivors of Israel, and prophesy the coming of the Messiah. David was chosen to replace Saul as king. Ultimately, the Messiah would come from the line of David. John was selected to baptize the people of Israel and prepare them for the imminent coming of the Messiah.
As we read the text from the bible, we see the word ‘chosen’ used frequently. I would like to throw a bit of a twist on this. I think that, at conception, the Lord created us with the gifts to accomplish a specific mission. They chose whether to do the Lord’s will or not. The prime example is our Blessed Mother. She was perfectly made without the stain of sin. When the angel appeared to her, she chose to do the will of God.
Isaiah knew he had special gifts, but didn’t know if he had wasted his time. David was tending sheep and playing his lyre. He had to decide to give up that life for a totally different and dangerous life. John the Baptist had to give up his comfortable life to live in the desert, where he ate locusts and honey for nourishment. I would be OK with the honey, but not so much with the locusts.
We are no different than these great men. Each of us is born with certain God given talents and weaknesses. We are tasked with choosing whether to know, love, and serve the Lord using the talents given to us or not.
I have heard a minimum of three homilies in my lifetime where the priest disparaged the song ‘I Did It My Way’. Until I heard those homilies, I never considered the error in that philosophy.
There are many things we could be doing right now. Those who meet in small faith groups, like ours, choose to be there to strengthen their faith and reflect on the Word of God. Instead of being nourished on locusts and honey, we are nourished by the sweet word of God to fulfill our mission on earth