Yep, it’s six months to Christmas so by tradition today marks the birth of John the Baptist. There are several sets of stories about John the Baptist in the Gospels. The first set is the stories in Luke about the annunciation to Zechariah (John’s father) that he would have a son, the visit of Mary to her relative Elizabeth (John’s mother), and then the birth of John. The other set of stories tell of John as the one who prepared the way for Jesus and baptized him and then the set about the imprisonment and death of Jesus. All the stories about John are intertwined with stories about Jesus.

There are many paintings of John and Jesus together as children since they were related through their mothers. One of my favorites is “Christ in the House of His Parents” by  John Everett Millais.

It’s a highly symbolic work. A youthful Jesus has cut his hand on a nail which leaves a mark anticipating the wounds from the nails at his crucifixion. The young John, already clothed in an animal skin, brings a basin of water anticipating his role as the baptizer of Jesus.

The painting was largely condemned by the critics of its day because it placed sacred persons in a very ordinary setting, but I think that’s part of its value. God works in the ordinary things of life. It’s why the Son became human like us.

Like John’s life, our lives are woven together in Christ. May we discover the connections and rejoice in them.

Read Luke 1:57-66 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne