HOMILY FOR SATURDAY 3RD WEEK OF THE ADVENT SEASON, YEAR B
THEME: ‘His name is John’
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
Malachi 3:1-4,23-24
Psalm 24:4-5,8-9,10,14
Luke 1:57-66
LITURGICAL COLOUR
VIOLET
INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the 23rd December of the Advent season Year B.
FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading of today,the prophet Malachi spoke about the coming of the Messiah, and also the messenger whom the Lord would send ahead of His Saviour to prepare the way for Him. This messenger and herald that the Lord would send to His people was St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord sent to call of His people to come to Him and repent from their sins and wickedness. There was that long wait and expectation of the coming of the Messiah among the people of God, who had been promised the coming of God’s salvation from prophets to prophets.
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FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
Before a child is born, parents will reflect carefully on the name they wish to give their child. The naming of their child is a significant decision. Their child will carry that name for life. The baptismal liturgy recognizes the importance of the parents’ naming of their child. At the beginning of the liturgy, the priest asks the parents, ‘What name do you give your child?’ In this morning’s gospel reading, Elizabeth was very clear about the name she wanted to give her child, the name ‘John’. This took the rest of the family by surprise because there had been no tradition of that name in the family. The choice of the name ‘John’ was confirmed by the child’s father, Zechariah. This was the name that the angel Gabriel had told Zechariah to give his son. Hebrew names often have a meaning and the name ‘John’ means in Hebrew ‘God is gracious’. The son of Zechariah and Elizabeth would prepare the way for the Lord who would inaugurate a time of grace, a time of God’s favour.
CONCLUSION
Dear brothers and sisters, it is that time of grace and favour that we celebrate at Christmas time. The angels would announce to the shepherds, ‘Peace to those on whom God’s favour rests’. With the birth of Jesus, God’s gracious favour rested on us all. We are all highly favoured by God because of the birth of the one whose way John the Baptist prepared. At this Christmas time, we acknowledge the wonderful way we have been graciously favoured by God’s giving his Son to us. Like the neighbours, in the words of today’s gospel reading, we treasure it in our hearts. This is also a time when we are called to share with each other something of that favour of God which has come to rest upon us through the birth of Jesus.
The Lord be with You.
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