The Nativity of St. John the Forerunner

Dear Parish Faithful,

"Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son ... What then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him." (Lk. 1:57, 66)

 

 

 

Today, June 24, is the commemoration of the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner/Baptist. Besides Christ, the only other biblical figure whose nativity is celebrated is the Mother of God. But of the two, only St. John's conception and nativity are recorded in the Scriptures, and in some detail: Lk. 1:5-25; 57-66.  I have included a link to the scriptural texts, and to the OCA page on St. John's nativity.

An interesting feature of the liturgical commemoration of St. John's Nativity is the choice of verses used for the prokeimenon of the Feast and for the appointed Alleluia verses. The prokeimena are always chosen verses from the Psalms. These verses are never chosen arbitrarily, but they are meant to highlight one aspect or another of a given commemoration. For St. John, the two verses are:

The righteous one shall rejoice in the Lord and shall set his hope on Him. (Ps. 63:11)

vs, Hear my voice, O God, when I pray unto Thee! (63:1)

The main verse, which is repeated three times in preparation for the reading of the Epistle, is clearly chosen because St. John was such a "righteous" person who proclaimed the coming of Christ. As the angel prophecies to Zachariah, the father of the forerunner:

 

And you will have joy 

  and gladness,

and many will rejoice in his birth;

for he will be great before the Lord ...

and he will be filled with

  the Holy Spirit,

even from his mother's 

  womb. (Lk. 1:14-15)

 

However, even though the Alleluia verses before the Gospel are also overwhelmingly chosen from the Psalms, in this case, the two verses are taken from the Gospel of St. Luke:

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people. (Lk. 1:68)

vs. And thou, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Most-High. (Lk. 1:68)

 

This is also the case when we celebrate both the Nativity of the Mother of God and her Entrance Into the Temple - the appointed prokeimenon verses for both feasts are taken directly from the text of St. Luke's Gospel. I will assume that in these two cases, this is because we have direct scriptural authority for the given feast, and not simply verses that are applied prophetically or typologically. Be that as it may, I highly encourage everyone to read the appointed texts chosen for the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord.

For those who observe the Apostles Fast, fish is allowed on this day in honor of St. John.