🕃 The Conception of the Honourable and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John.
Great Doxology.
Galatians 4:22-31; Luke 1:5-25.
Read Luke 1:5-25
It was once a common belief that not having children was a punishment from God. Zechariah and Elizabeth were “both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly” (Lk. 1:6), but yet they were childless into old age (see Lk. 1:7). People likely gossiped about Zechariah and Elizabeth for being childless and wondered what hidden sins they committed. However, I am reminded of the disciples asking Jesus a question about a man blind from birth: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (Jn. 9:2). Jesus answered: “It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him” (Jn. 9:3).
God is not evil. God does not afflict evils on us or delight in our suffering. He is our loving Father. He may permit bad things to happen in this fallen and sinful world, but He does not cause them. Where there is evil, God works to bring about goodness, healing, and redemption. Evil will not overcome good; darkness will not overcome the light. Jesus is the Light of the World, and “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn. 1:5). Christ has conquered sin, evil, and death!
The troparion for today’s feast is addressed to Elizabeth and Zechariah: “Joy to you, O barren one unable to give birth. Behold, you conceive today the one who is really a torch of the Sun who will enlighten the whole world that suffers from blindness. Rejoice, O Zechariah, and cry out in all confidence: The one who will be born is a prophet of the Most High.” Today, Elizabeth and Zechariah rejoice and celebrate that God has answered their prayer and gave them a son, John the Baptist. Just as the sun gives light to the world, Jesus is the true Sun, the true Light of the World. John the Baptist is like His “torch,” preaching repentance and the coming of God’s kingdom.