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“St. John the Baptist: Born to Forerun” (Luke 1:57-80)Merry Saintjohnthebaptistmas! “What?” you say, “What did he say?” I said, Merry Saintjohnthebaptistmas! You heard me right. If we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ, on December 25, then six months before that, which is today, we should celebrate the birth of his predecessor, his forerunner, St. John the Baptist. So, Merry Saintjohnthebaptistmas! Six months out from Christmas. But Christmas is December 25, and today is only June 24, not the 25th. How come we’re celebrating on this day? Well, it’s just a little quirk in the calendar. In the old Roman...

“Luke’s Lead-up to Christmas: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist and the Song of Zechariah, the Benedictus” (Luke 1:57-80)When last we left Zechariah, he was doing his best Marcel Marceau impression. In other words, he couldn’t speak! He was making signs and gestures to try to communicate. In other words, there were no words! Zechariah had been struck mute, unable to speak, because he had not believed the words the angel Gabriel had spoken to him, telling him that he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a child, even though they were both old and had been...