Festival of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Posted on June 24, 2023 by under
Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31 (NKJV)
40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Devotion
John the Baptist seems like a tragic figure. He lived in the wilderness, was thrown into prison for teaching the Truth, and was finally beheaded for the same reason. It may look as though John the Baptist had been abandoned by God and his “way hidden from the Lord,” but this was not the case. John the Baptist knew his Savior, and this faith gave him joy through earthly persecution. Thus the Baptist confessed, “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled” (John 3:29).
In the same way, Isaiah teaches us that to be reconciled with God through faith is a greater treasure than all earthly comfort. It is as though God were saying, “Why do you worry about earthly persecution and hardships? Do you not know that I can deliver you from all troubles? And even should it kill you, what then? It is I who raises the dead, and will raise you from the dead on the Last Day.”
Prayer: O Lord God, Heavenly Father, Who, through Thy servant John the Baptist, didst bear witness that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of the world and that all who believe in Him shall inherit eternal life: We humbly pray Thee to enlighten us by Thy Holy Spirit that we may at all times find comfort and joy in this witness, continue steadfast in the true faith and at last with all believers attain unto eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
