Birth of John the Baptist

Comment:

The traditional story of the birth of John the Baptist is found only in the Gospel of Luke, and Bible scholars generally doubt its accuracy as history or geneology. According to the story, John is the son of Mary's cousin Elizabeth and her priestly husband Zechariah. In an echo of Hebrew heroes Isaac, Samson, and Samuel, his birth is described as miraculous, in that the parents were too old to conceive and give birth.  

The story thus makes John a second cousin of Jesus and a significant figure in his own right. All gospels agree that John became a prophet and served as a precursor for the ministry of Jesus. He preached a message of repentance for past behavior and a rebirth into a new spiritual awareness. He used the rite of baptism, which may tie him to the Essene community beyond the Jordan.

In terms of the Jesus story of Christ Awareness, I think John suggests that we cannot just stumble unaware into Christ Consciousness. We must, as John taught, 'repent'—a word that is rooted in the Latin for 'thought.' We can only be open to the Christ once we have released old fears and limitations and been 'reborn' into a new expansion of willingness.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed