The following is a part of a meditation series that I write with my wife, called Somedays’ Meditations. We started it in our home parish for our tweens, and we thought it would be helpful to folks online as well. You can read the meditations here, or you can visit https://christchurchmanlius.org/somedays-meditations to see them as a collected volume.

Scripture:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

Luke 1:76-79

Meditation:

Today is the feast of St. John the Baptist. He was one of Jesus’ cousins, and his job was to do something very, very important: to tell people who Jesus was. You may remember that St. John baptized Jesus, too. He was pretty hesitant to do so (“Why am I baptizing YOU when you’re the important one here!”), but Jesus insisted. He needed to be baptized in order to walk the same path as those around him. Jesus wasn’t here to lord it over others; Jesus came to be with all people, especially the lost, sick, and lonely.

The Scripture reading above is from a song that St. John’s father, Zechariah, sang just after St. John was born. It’s a beautiful song that I hope you’ll read more than just once. I love the joy in it, but I also love how close and personal God is in it. Zechariah sings about the “tender mercy” of God and the light from God that will help those who sit in darkness. God will guide those who are lost. God cares so much for everyone, no matter how small and insignificant we might feel.

Activity:

Try to memorize this bit of Scripture. Go line-by-line, each day, until you’ve got it all by heart. Repeat it to yourself while you’re on the bus or out on a walk with your family. If you like music, then maybe try to make up a song for it.