The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, June 24th: Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80)

SPECIAL CALLING NOT JUST FOR BIBLICAL HEROES

This week is one of those rare occasions when a feast day for a saint falls on a Sunday, and so the normal Sunday readings are replaced by special readings for that particular saint. In this case, we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

All the readings this week focus on John the Baptist, or as he was known to his hip-hop friends, J. Bap. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah foretold of a special person, and the special mission this person would have. Speaking of this special person, Isaiah wrote, “The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name,” and, “For now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb.”

In the second reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, John the Baptist’s mission was described. His mission was to be a herald, a forerunner, of the Messiah. John was chosen before he was born to be the one who proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all of Israel in preparation of the coming of the Savior, Jesus. John said, “What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.”

Finally, in the Gospel reading, we hear about John the Baptist’s birth, from the first chapter of Luke. John received his name “John” from his father, Zechariah, despite the fact that none of his relatives were named John. This was done because even before John was conceived, the angel of the Lord told Zechariah that his name would be John, and that he would have a special mission in life.

In all the years that I’ve written these “Unauthorized Homilies,” which I started intermittently about 13 years ago—and every week for the past seven years—I don’t believe I’ve ever commented on the Responsorial Psalm. At least I don’t remember commenting on the Psalm, but of course the way things have been going lately, I can’t remember what I did this morning, so maybe I have commented on the Psalm numerous times.

Anyway, as you know, each Sunday between the first and second readings, we always recite or sing verses from one of the Psalms. And as you also know, I hope, the book of Psalms is the song book of ancient Israel, containing some of the most poetic and powerful expressions of praise and worship in the entire Bible.

The Responsorial Psalm this week is from Psalm 139. This passage is very near and dear to my heart, as it expresses exactly how I felt the moment, at the age of 27, when I stopped being an atheist. Since my teenage years I truly believed that all life on earth came into existence by purely random, unplanned, and natural processes. In other words, I accepted the popular myth that our existence here on earth is nothing more than a curious cosmic accident with no ultimate meaning.

Then, moments after being present for the birth of our first daughter, it suddenly hit me that what I had just witnessed was far too complex and intricate to have occurred by accident. There simply was too much design involved with all those interconnected biological systems. I realized the presence of obvious design meant there had to be a designer, or in this case, a Designer.

At the time I was unfamiliar with the biblical Psalms, but King David’s song of praise in Psalm 139 captured the thoughts racing through my head: “Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works.”

David, of course, was not offering praise and thanks to the impersonal laws of physics or random mutation and natural selection. He used the personal pronouns “you” and “your” because he knew that our divine Creator is a Person. When I came to understand that life on earth indeed had been designed and created by a divine Person, and not by impersonal natural forces, my head began to spin so much I thought it would fall off and roll down the hall of the hospital maternity ward.

The readings this week clearly explain that John the Baptist was known by God before he was even conceived in the womb. Also, John was chosen by God for a very special purpose. We must not make the mistake of thinking that only famous biblical heroes like John have been given special missions by God. Each and every one of us was known by God, even before we were conceived. And each and every one of us has been created by God for a special purpose. God simply does not do stuff for the sake of doing it. Everything He does, and everything He creates, has a purpose.

In order for a person truly to have a joyful existence during his or her brief time here on earth, God’s particular plan must be individually discerned and then lived out day by day. We each have a purpose; we each have a divinely-ordained mission.

It’s hard enough as it is for a person to figure out exactly what God is calling him to do. But if that person doesn’t even realize that God has a specific plan for his life, well, obviously he has no chance of knowing it or doing it. (Because it’s a plain fact that complex, detailed, intricate things just do not happen randomly. There must be a plan and a design and a creative will exerted.)

So please take some time this week—especially as you listen to the fascinating readings about the divine mission of John the Baptist, and as you proclaim the awesome song of thanksgiving to our Creator in Psalm 139—to prayerfully contemplate your own individual purpose in life. God loves each and every one of us and has a wonderfully plan for each and every one of our lives. This is a fundamental fact of our faith. This is what gives us true joy, and what gives our lives ultimate meaning.

©2007