Today, 24 June, is the feast of the nativity of Saint John the Baptist. In his scholarly and detailed style, Saint Luke wrote about the moving episode of the annunciation of John’s birth. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zachariah the priest during his ritual service at the temple to tell him that he and his wife Elizabeth had been chosen by God to be the parents of the Messiah’s forerunner.

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1, 13-18).

Gabriel’s good news is permeated with the spirituality of the desert.

The Bible uses four words to explain the desert experience. The first one is Midbar. It comes from the root ‘dabar’ which means “to lead”.

Thus, leading cattle to pasture in the open space. The second word the Scripture uses is ‘Arabah’. It is derived from the root ‘arab’ which means “to be arid”. The word signifies a desert plain. It communicates the idea of a stretch of country that is arid, unproductive and desolate. The third word is ‘horbah’. It is derived from the root ‘harab’, which means “to lie waste”. This word conveys the idea of ruin or desolation. The last word mentioned is ‘jeshimon’ which, in turn, is a derivative from ‘jasham’, meaning “to be desolate”. The desert considered as a place without water.

Therefore, it was a waste, a wilderness.

Combining the various meanings of the four words taken together, we can deduce that the word desert suggests a difficult and desolate place. As the Messiah’s forerunner, John the Baptist was called from his conception to live in the desert. His mother, Elizabeth, must have considered herself a failure, perhaps disgraced by God. How can a woman, who remained chaste before marriage, not conceive a child? How can she not fulfil God’s mandate, as clearly enunciated in the book of Genesis: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1, 28)? The Lukan text directly exhibits the desolation Zachariah and his wife felt. “They had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years” (Luke 1, 7). A harsh reality to contend with!

Fortunately “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1, 37).

Elizabeth conceived and gave birth to a son called John. His name’s meaning says it all: “God is gracious”. To the aridity of life God responds with his compassion. To the uttermost rejection of what is good and just the Almighty Lord answers with his unfathomable mercy.

That is why, as the book of Deuteronomy 32 says, God “found him [Israel] in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye” (Deut 32, 10). In the wilderness Israel was pampered “by the Lord alone … [because] there was no foreign god with him” (Deut 32, 12).

When John grew and became strong in spirit (see Luke 1, 80), he went into the wilderness. In that harsh environment he learned to listen humbly to God’s voice and obey it himself first before leading others to repentance. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mark 1, 3).

Am I ready to change my way of thinking, acting and behaving by letting God’s spirit take over my life? Am I brave enough to surrender to the crying voice coming from the wilderness?

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap

SAN GWANN