December 2, 2020
Luke 1:57-66—Zechariah & Elizabeth/The Prophets
“but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” Luke 1:60-61, NIV
It’s always exciting to welcome a new baby into the family and the parents want to pick out the perfect name for their son or daughter. Often a child is named for someone. For instance, John and I have a niece named Jaclyn. Her grandfather was Jack and her mother is Lynn. Hence, her parents named her Jaclyn. When I was born, my parents named me using my mother’s first name as my middle name. Our older daughter has my first name as her middle name and our older granddaughter has her mother’s first name as her middle name. If our older granddaughter ever has a daughter it will be interesting to see if she carries on the tradition.
Our Advent devotion today is about a baby who was not named by his parents, but named by God. An angel appeared to his father Zechariah, a priest, and told him God wanted him to name the son he would have John. The name John means “God is Gracious.” John later became known as John the Baptist.
It was Jewish custom when John was born to name a firstborn son after his father or another relative. The hope was that the child would take on some of the favorable traits of the person for whom he was named. Therefore, family and friends assumed Elizabeth, John’s mother, would give him the name Zechariah to honor his father. At John’s circumcision ceremony they asked what the child’s name would be and his mother Elizabeth spoke up and said his name would be John. Those in attendance were astonished and voiced objections since no one in their family was named John. Then they turned to Zechariah to see what he thought. On a tablet he wrote that the baby’s name would be John. God was gracious in giving Zechariah and Elizabeth a child in their older years and they were obedient to God by naming the child John instead of Zechariah.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we know you have a plan for us and know each of us by name. Please help us be obedient to you even if others oppose us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Lorraine Ward