In celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, we are looking backward to the Jewish prophetic tradition as summed up in John, and at the same time looking forward toward Christ whose herald John was. There are two sets of readings, for the vigil and the day itself, and we will consider both sets together.

The GOSPEL readings (vigil, Lk 1:5-17; day Lk 1:57-66, 80) give us Luke’s account of the annunciation and birth of John. Although he may well have been a relative of Jesus, the events are told in a way that is obviously symbolic. Details are presented only as signs of God’s deeper works of salvation, and anticipate the fullness of salvation in Christ. Other persons in the Jewish scriptural history have similar birth stories, accompanied by wonderful events: Isaac (Gn 18:1-15; 21:1-9), Samson (Jdgs 13), and Samuel (1 Sam 1 and 2). These individuals marked significant turning points in Israel’s history, but were not themselves outstanding leaders.

Zechariah’s song (vv 68-79), which is omitted from these readings, stands at the heart of the daily morning prayer of the Church, and sums up the prophetic expectation for the Messiah.

Both FIRST READINGS describe the call of the prophet to announce God’s word. Jeremiah’s experience (vigil, Jer 1:4-10) was that the power of God’s word overcame his youthful weakness. This reading alludes to the eternity of God’s plan (v 5) and the insertion of God’s word into the present moment through the prophet (v 9-10). The second "Servant Song" of Isaiah (day, Is 49:1-6) speaks of the effectiveness of God’s word to accomplish his will.

The RESPONSORIAL PSALMS speak of God’s support of his faithful servant (vigil, Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17; Response: "Since my mother’s womb you have been my strength") and inner penetration of his word into the very heart of his servant (day, Psalm 139:1-3, 13-14, 14-15; Response: "I praise you for I am wonderfully made").

The SECOND READINGS define the mission of the prophet as yielding to the greater reality of Christ’s presence. 1 Peter 1:8-12 (vigil) points to the activity of the Spirit in the prophets’ search to reveal the fullness of God’s favor to come. Acts 13:22-26 (day), an excerpt from Paul’s first missionary sermon, looks to John the Baptist’s role as messenger who calls attention to the fullness of the message, and then diminishes himself before it.

1. What can John’s calling tell us about the vocation of the Christian today?

2. Discuss the relationship between humility and boldness in proclaiming the message of Christ.

It is both fitting and difficult to celebrate these two apostles in the same liturgical moment. Together they are the foundation of the infant Church, yet in temperament and ministry they are nearly opposites. Peter, the impetuous braggart who could be counted on only to back out when the chips were down, yet who always repented and persevered, became the foundation "rock" of the Church. Paul, the most Jewish of Jews, had the insight to realize that the early Christian Church had to give up its "Jewishness" if it was to be truly universal; and he had the courage to maintain his conviction even in face of strong and sometimes violent opposition.

The readings of the vigil seem to speak more of the call and mission of these apostles, while the Mass of the day concentrates on their primal position as apostles.

The love demanded by Jesus is not mere attachment and affection, but the enduring love of total commitment and fidelity. The threefold question and answer echoes the threefold denial during Christ’s passion (see Jn 18:17-22) but also underscores the importance of the moment in itself. The consequence of this love is the mission of the apostles, which is not to do their own will, but to fulfill God’s will in imitation of Jesus the Master (vv 18-19).

The dramatic character of this cure could obscure its important lesson about the apostolic ministry, namely, that the working of God’s power requires the utmost attention and care on the part of the minister. It was God, not Peter and John, who healed the man. Yet, without their care for the person before them, and without their total concentration and conviction, the cure would not have taken place (read carefully vv 4-7). God accomplishes his will through the apostles (and we are all called to be apostles), but this is not a by-product of some other activity or a sideline occupation. The fulfillment of God’s will demands that we care deeply and intensely about it.

This psalm reinforces the sense of apostolic mission — God makes himself known to all humanity through his works. Response: "Their message goes out through all the earth."

In Paul’s description of his own call and sending as an apostle, he repeats the theme of the Gospel: his task is to pass on what he has received — the apostle’s mission originates in the call and sending forth by Christ, it is not undertaken on one’s own initiative.

This passage is often used as a proof text for the primacy of the Pope. It may well be that, but to stop there is to set aside rich insight into our own participation in the mission of the Church. The "power of the keys" is rightly understood as referring to the authority of Peter and his successors in the ministry of leading and unifying the Church, but it also provides us with an image of the mission of the whole Church, ourselves included. The Church is the doorway to God’s kingdom. Each of us as a member of the Church has the power to unlock that doorway — to welcome all we meet, by our spirit of love and forgiveness, into association with us in the kingdom. But we can also close the door of the kingdom to others, excluding them by our attitudes of superiority, prejudice, selfishness, or negligence. As Christians, we have the power to open or to lock the door of God’s kingdom. By our own words and actions we cannot help but exercise this power — one way or the other.

The liberation of Peter from prison echoes many events of Jewish history (the deliverance of Joseph, Gn 39:21-41:57; the three young men, Dn 3; and Daniel, Dn 6) that consciously reflect the paschal liberation (Ex 12:42). Peter now undergoes the same trial and deliverance as his Master, and in his own person becomes a sign of God’s deliverance of his people.

This psalm, in the words of one being unjustly persecuted, echoes hope for deliverance and freedom. Response: "The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him."

Paul is writing from prison at the end of his life. The only deliverance he can expect is death, and he confidently proclaims that it is the greatest deliverance of all. The death of the Christian who has lived and worked in union with the death of Christ through baptism is true release to freedom and glory.

1. Discuss the qualities of people you know who are exemplary apostles in the light of these readings.

2. Discuss the differences and similarities between Peter and Paul.