Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 / Luke 1:57-66
If we bother to find out more about our names, we will see that most of our names have a meaning.
More so for Asians, the parents will want to give their children a meaningful as well as nice sounding name, with the hope that they will live up to their names.
The people of the biblical times were certainly no different in this aspect.
The name John means "God is gracious".
Indeed, John the Baptist came to herald the appointed time of grace.
Time was like pregnant with grace, grace that was waiting to burst forth.
John the Baptist came to announce the time of the fullness of grace in Jesus Christ.
As much as this grace is good news, it is nonetheless a painful one.
John the Baptist was like a refiner's fire that burns away the useless dross as we heard in the 1st reading.
Yes the time is very very near. Let us purify ourselves in prayer and penance to make our hearts a worthy home for the Lord.