Name as God’s will …
Dear brothers and sisters, when a child is born, one of the first things his parents should do is give him a name to address him throughout his life. Parents should choose this name and agree on it before the child’s birth. When the child is born, they already give him the name, but there may be a split because they cannot agree. One likes one name, the other likes another, or they want to name the child after their parents, grandparents, and the like. And so it is in today’s Gospel.
During today’s St. John the Baptist feast, we also heard about a conflict. The conflict is about what the child of Zechariah and Elizabeth will be called. According to tradition, a name is given after the child’s father or some relative, but when the child is born, they ask what name they will give him, and Elizabeth says that his name will be John.
We see that society, or those who come and rejoice with Elizabeth, want to name the child after his father, Zechariah. However, we see that Zacharias also approves of the name John. This conflict between parents and society shows us that it does not matter what the child’s name will be. After all, it’s just a name, but behind that name lies something more profound, critical, and symbolic.
Nine months ago, even before John’s conception, an angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple and informed him that his prayer had been answered. A child was born to him, whom he named Johannes. Here, we hear God’s will through the mouth of Archangel Gabriel. However, Zechariah doubted and asked the angel how it would happen when he and his wife were old. Despite the appearance of a supernatural being, the angel standing before God’s face doubted.
We see what bad doubt can bring, not only in faith, but also in seeing and looking itself. Zechariah not only believed in God and worshiped him, but also saw the angel himself. However, doubt brought punishment – Zacharias was speechless. He was silent throughout his wife’s pregnancy. Indeed, silence is very symbolic because it brings thinking and listening. Even though silence may not immediately be a punishment in the sense of something negative, it can come as something positive, so Zechariah deepens his faith. We see the result when he stood against society and fulfilled God’s will. The child’s name was John, as the angel said.
It is an excellent example of the birth of the great prophet John the Baptist and of his parents’ testimony. They had to fight and were not made of roses, but God’s grace came through persistent prayer, faith, and trust, perhaps even through falls and corrections, as we see in today’s story when Zechariah confessed and confirmed God’s will.
