Isaiah 49:1-6 / Acts 13:22-26 / Luke 1:57-66, 80
The name " John" appears for the first time in the Bible in today's gospel.
It is a Jewish name (Yohanan) and it means "God is gracious".
Why Elizabeth gave her son that name and why Zechariah confirmed it was not mentioned.
But we can suppose, and quite correctly, that she was expressing her thanks and praise to God for this gift of grace in her son, and that God was merciful to her and saved her from the shame of being barren.
Indeed the name "John" was very befitting for the Baptist because he was the herald of a more important person.
He ushered in the appointed time of grace.
In fact, he ushered in the fullness of grace that was embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ, God came as a man to visit His people and to redeem them from the slavery of sin.
As it was then, so it is now. Every moment is a time of grace.
God still visits us not only to save us but to make us the light of the nations, so that salvation may reach all nations, as we heard in the 1st reading.
May we live each moment in the grace of God, so that we may be channels of light and life to others.