Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.”
They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God.
Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
What, then, will this child be - for surely the hand of the Lord is with him
John the Baptist, the greatest of prophets, receives his very name in a prophetic moment. His parents Elizabeth and Zechariah are guided by God to break with tradition, and perhaps even with their initial preferences, and name him John. He was not named for his father or a family member, or ‘the way we have always done it.’ It is a new way guided by God. People were amazed and began to talk. What did this mean?
“What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. These words speak in a profound way to the movement of God in the lives of every parent and child. Perhaps the greatest role of being parents blessed with a child is to carefully discern how to see and nurture the gifts and energy in the child they have been given. What God has gifted a child to be might mean letting go of preconceived notions of activities and career/life paths. It means raising their child to flourish in a God-gifted life, believing for sure that the hand of the Lord is with our child.
—Rick Krivanka serves as Executive Director of the Jesuit Retreat Center in Parma, Ohio.
Jesus, amidst whatever fears and doubts I have in this difficult time, may this Christmas be a moment of opening my eyes to see and my ears to hear the wonder of your love and presence in my life, my family, my children. Amen.
—Rick Krivanka
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