The Birth of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated on June 24 each year. The
reason for this is that in the Gospel of Luke, we were told that Elizabeth was in her sixth month when the life-changing event of the Annunciation was made to Mary about the birth of Jesus. Thus, if Christmas is celebrated on December 25 each year, John the Baptist, who was the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, had to have been born six months before Jesus. According to some, John was born when the days are longest (June 24) and, from his birth on, they grow steadily shorter. Jesus was born when the days are shortest (December 25) and, from his birth on, they grow steadily longer. John speaks truly when he says of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30)
Our celebration today is a little bit unusual. Normally when we celebrate the saints, we commemorate them on the day of their death. But, with Saint John the Baptist, we also celebrate his birth. There are only two other people whom the Church celebrates liturgically their birth. Who are they? Mary and Jesus. This tells us that John the Baptist occupies an important part in the liturgical and spiritual life of the Church because he was not only the last of the Old Testament prophets and first of the New Testament prophets, but he was the one who immediately prepared the way for Jesus. He is the forerunner or harbinger of the Messiah. As a forerunner or harbinger, he only pointed to the main person (Christ); he did not usurp the attention intended for Christ. His birth finds its greatest importance in the birth of Jesus. As soon as Christ started his public ministry, John the Baptist disappeared from the scene, truly faithful to his mission. In John the Baptist, we see no self-aggrandizement or no self-absorption, but an authentic understanding of mission and purpose.
Does your life point to Jesus? Or, does our practice of the faith culminate or finds its fulfillment in Jesus, meaning it’s not for self-glorification, but for the glory of God? In my life choices, do I always consider if they give glory to God? – Fr. Cary