Nativity of St John the Baptist, Year B, 24.06.2012

Isaiah 49: 1-6/ Acts 13:22-26/ Luke 1: 57-66, 80

The birth of a child is certainly not a casual or ordinary matter.

There is a whole spectrum of emotions involved – excitement, anxiety, worry, happy …

And along with that are hopes and dreams and expectations of what the future will be like with the arrival of the child.

Indeed, the birth of a child is no ordinary or casual matter.

We can even say that every birth of a child changes the whole of humanity.

And the birth of John the Baptist, the feast that we celebrate today, is certainly quite dramatic.

When his father, Zechariah, the priest of the Temple, was told by the angel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth would conceive a child even though she was advanced in age and considered barren, Zechariah was skeptical and cynical.

For that he was struck dumb.

And then when Mary visited Elizabeth, the baby leapt in her womb. That must be really dramatic for Elizabeth.

As if that was not dramatic enough, then comes the naming of the baby.

Elizabeth and Zachariah insisted that he be called “John” and then Zechariah regained his power of speech and he praised God.

The neighbours were awed and with so much drama, they wondered what would this child turn out to be.

They might have thought that John would follow his father’s footsteps and become a priest of the Temple, or become someone famous and influential in the world of status and lime-light.

Yes, he did become someone famous and influential.

He became John the Baptist, who wore clothes made of camel-hair and ate locusts and wild honey and lived in the wilderness of the desert.

His name was John (Yehonan) and his name means “God is gracious” or “the grace of God”.

Indeed, it was the grace of God that chose him to be the greatest of all the prophets, because it was he who pointed out Jesus, the Lamb of God, to the people.

Yes, John the Baptist lived up to his name as “the grace of God”.

His call for repentance and conversion led people to the baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

John the Baptist prepared the people for the gracious coming of the Son of God among the people.

As we celebrated the feast of the birth of John the Baptist, we honour the great prophet who prepared the way for Jesus Christ.

We also give thanks for the outpouring of God’s grace, the grace that also makes us prophets of God.

Yes, John the Baptist was not just the greatest of all the prophets, but also in him the grace of God worked powerfully and wonderfully.

Yes, John the Baptist lived up to his name. That was John the Baptist, a great figure in the Bible.

Now, what would we expect of someone with a name like “Dolores” (Dolores means sorrow!)

But some of us may remember a Dolores Hart.

Dolores Hart was born in 1938 to teenage parents who were bit-part actors and who later divorced.

Dolores had some Catholic upbringing, but in her teens she followed the footsteps of her parents by becoming an actress.

In 1957, she acted in a supporting role as the love interest of Elvis Presley in the movie “Loving you”.                                                   In that movie, they kissed and it was Elvis’ first on-screen kiss.

Dolores became an instant star and she was so natural and effortless as an actress and she was hot in demand.

From that time onwards, Dolores Hart was draped with furs and expensive gowns and surrounded by men!

She was beautiful, she had super-star status, she had the lime-light on her, she had million-dollar movie contracts, she had everything.

But by 1958, she felt fatigued and a friend suggested that she take a rest at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, a Benedictine monastery.

At first she scorned at the idea of going to a place where there are nuns, but the friend told her that the nuns won’t talk to her because they are contemplative nuns.

So she arrived at the monastery in a studio limousine, and she immediately loved the quiet and the simplicity, and found her inner peace.

At that time, she was also preparing for the wedding to Don Robinson, a Los Angeles architect. But there at the monastery, it hit her that she was in love with God.

Well in the end, Dolores Hart gave up the lime-light, a promising movie career, fur coats and expensive gowns, and even the man she was supposed to marry.

She gave up all that, and at 23 years-old, she entered the Benedictine monastery where she found her peace and her love for God.

Everyone in the show biz, and also the nuns, thought she was nuts. In fact, the nuns thought she was a “lightweight” and that she won’t stay long.

Even Dolores herself thought she was nuts. She felt like as if she leapt off a 20-storey building.

But just as John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb, Dolores Hart leapt into the gracious and tender hands of a loving God.

Well, in the gracious hands of God, the now Mother Dolores Hart stayed for 50 years in the same Benedictine monastery where she is now the prioress.

There is a documentary on her life called "God is the bigger Elvis" which was nominated for a Grammy this year. You may want to check out that documentary.

Yet, she was often asked, not about what she gave up, but rather about that kiss with Elvis Presley in the movie.

Her reply was this : An on-screen kiss last only about 15 secs, but that one seemed to have lasted for 50 years, because people keep talking about it even after 50 years.

Yes, some things are indeed difficult to let go and give up.

Oh I also forgot to mention about Don Robinson, the Los Angeles architect whom Dolores Hart was supposed to have married.

He also gave up the idea of marriage, i.e. he never got married. He was quoted as saying “I never found a love like Dolores”. Nonetheless, he visited Dolores every year at the monastery until he passed away in November last year.

But for Dolores Hart and Don Robinson, and more so for John the Baptist, the grace of God worked powerfully and wonderfully.

When Jesus came into the scene, John the Baptist pointed Him out as the One who is to come.

John the Baptist gave up the attention and the fame and the lime-light and faded off into the background.

In the 2nd reading, we heard that before he ended his ministry he said : I am not the one you imagine me to be. That one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandals.

One of the profound sayings of John the Baptist is this : He must increase and I must decrease.

With the grace of God, John the Baptist knew when to let go and what to give up and that he must decrease.

With the grace of God, may we know when to let go so as to let God go ahead of us.

With the grace of God, may we know what to give up that is earthly and receive what is heavenly.

With the grace of God, may we step back and decrease, so that God may increase in our hearts, just as it did for John the Baptist.