2026 Pentecost Devotions I
Wednesday, June 24
Festival of St. John the Baptist
Luke 1:57-66
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
“… Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. …”
Across the river from my hometown there was a road leading through the mountains toward Mosquito Valley. Legend had it that, somewhere up the road, a young girl mysteriously disappeared, and her body was never found. Locals told of a ghostly figure resembling the lost girl appearing on moonlit nights along that road. As a child, we were warned not to travel there lest me meet the apparition and suffer the same fate.
Like many of us, we have been told stories about local incidents that seemed unreal or mysterious. A missing girl showing up as a ghost, a headless horseman menacing villagers, or an elderly couple having a child even though both were past child-bearing age. Such legends make the rounds especially in small communities and among close neighbors.
The story of the birth and naming of John who will become the Baptizer is such a tale. Its origins among the people of the hill country of Judea remind us of those unexplained and mysterious legends we’ve all grown up with. The difference is that this saga is biblical, and it serves as an introduction to the one who will later appear in the wilderness baptizing people for repentance.
Sometimes, what we read in the Scriptures seems far-fetched. Yet, we believe because it reveals God at work. Such incidents challenge our rational minds but inform our faith. We believe, not because it seems like legend but because it seems true to who God is and how God acts.
Prayer: Lord, your ways are not our ways. In the midst of those things we cannot comprehend, give us the faith to believe and trust in Your Word and Your way. Amen.