It has been said that God may not seem to answer our prayers, at times, because he is actually waiting for the right time to do so. As it is also said in Ecclesiastes, there is a time, a right time, for everything. We just have to wait and trust that God is not “sleeping” or uninvolved.

The Birth of John the Baptist whose solemnity we celebrate today is a reminder that God is gracious and that this graciousness can at times be surprisingly extraordinary. We know how Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless even unto their old age. But then, when the right hour came, when God’s plan was ripe, he gifted this old couple with a child in the person of John whose primary and almost exclusive mission was to call people to repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins, especially in preparation for the coming Messiah whose way John was to prepare.

The name given by the angel to this child was specifically “John” (not Zechariah, which the relatives and neighbors thought would be its name)—a name which literally means, “The Lord is gracious,” undoubtedly to underline the graciousness of God not just towards the parents but also to the whole of humanity as well.

May this solemnity, then, of this great prophet and witness, remind us that we are all the fruit of God’s graciousness, and that as gifts we should bear much fruit and take our roles in this world seriously like St. John did.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.”

But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.

Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.