The church celebrate the birthdays of only three people, viz., Jesus (Christmas), Mary, the Mother of God (Sept 8) and John the Baptist (June 24). For all Saints we only celebrate the day they departed from the Earth, the day their eternal life began. We remember the birth of Mary and John the Baptist because of the important role they played in the redemption plan. The church remembers John the Baptist four days in a year:

• June 24 - The Birthday of John the Baptist (6 months before Christmas)
• 1st week of Orthodox Advent - The Sunday after Hudosh E'tho (middle of November) - Annunciation to Zachariah
• 4th week of Orthodox Advent - (usually the first or second Sunday in December) - The Birth/Circumcision of John the Baptist
• January 7 - The Martyrdom of John the Baptist

Since January 7 falls 1 day after the Danaha (the Baptism of Jesus) and June 24 falls close to June 29 when we celebrate the Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul, the actual dates when we celebrate the birth and martyrdom of John the Baptist gets lost. He is remembered predominantly during the advent Season when we recall the annunciation to Zechariah and the Birth of John.

In the Gospels the role of John the Baptist in relation to Jesus is featured prominently. St. Luke recounts his birth, his life in the desert and his preaching. St. Mark describes his ministry and his dramatic death. John the Baptist is also prominently referred to in the Gospels of Matthew and John. John the Baptist began his preaching under the emperor Tiberius, in 27-28 A.D. He invited the people who came out to hear him "to prepare the way" to welcome the Lord, to make straight the paths of their lives through a radical conversion of heart (cf. Luke 3:4).

According to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Prayer was the Guiding Thread of John's Life and provided him with the power and force. He stated:

"Now we see this great figure - this force - in his passion, in his resistance against the powerful. We ask: where does this life come from, this interiority, which is so strong, so principled, so consistent, which is spent so totally for God and in preparing the way for Jesus? The answer is simple: from his relationship with God, from prayer, which is the guiding thread of his entire life."

Pope Benedict also commented about the Birth of John the Baptist and the Benedictus - the poetry of Zacharia we recall this Sunday:

"John is the divine gift long besought by his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth (cf. Luke 1:13); a great gift, humanly unhoped - for since both of them were advanced in years and Elizabeth was barren (cf. Luke 1:7); but nothing is impossible for God (cf. Luke 1:36). The announcement of this birth occurred precisely in a place of prayer, in the temple of Jerusalem; indeed, it took place when, to Zechariah, there fell the great privilege of entering the temple's most sacred place, in order to offer incense to the Lord (cf. Luke 1:8-20). Even the Baptist's birth is marked by prayer: the hymn of joy, praise and thanksgiving that Zechariah raises to the Lord and that we recite each morning in Lauds - the "Benedictus" - extols God's action in history and prophetically points to the mission of his son John: to go before the Son of God made flesh in order to prepare the way for him (Luke 1:67-79)."

John the Baptist teaches us how to pray by fixing our gaze upon the Lamb of God and by falling silent in adoration, in humility, and in joy. During the Holy Qurbono, we are called to concentrate our attention - our thoughts and our heart - to heaven where Jesus sits in the right hand of the God, the Father.

Father Mark of Silverstream Priory, Ireland, Editor of 'Vultus Christi' adds:

"John's mysterious greatness in the plan of salvation is no mere human choice; it is something divine in origin. Saint John himself said, "A man cannot receive any thing, unless it be given him from heaven" (Jn 3:27). "The Lord," he says, "hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name" (Is 49:1). This certainty makes the Baptist very humble. He does not want to be mistaken for more than he really is. "You yourselves do bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not Christ, but that I am sent before him'" (Jn 3:28).

From his tender childhood John knew that he is sent before the One who is greater than himself. John's father, the priest Zechariah, must have repeated to him many times over what he sang under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the eighth day after his birth: "And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" (Lk 1:76-77)."

John the Baptist is someone we should emulate. He and St. Mary are examples of great humility while being strong in faith. Please read the articles in today's Malankara World Journal supplemented by the articles in the previous issues cited in this issue. Jesus Christ gave the greatest compliment to John the Baptist when he said,

Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
- Matthew 11:11

Think about it: Jesus told us that John the Baptist is greater than Abraham and all the Patriarchs. He is greater than Noah, Enoch, Moses, Elijah or David, Solomon or any prophet that preceded Jesus in the Old Testament. That is the highest honor we can receive when we are in the earth.

This Sunday is the Week 2 of Advent in the Western Churches. Interestingly, the Western Churches also takes a 'A Trip out to the Wilderness' this Sunday to hear Isaiah and the John the Baptist talk about the need for repentance.

Isaiah 40:3-11 talks of Advent:

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

6 The voice said, "Cry out!"
And he said, "What shall I cry?"
"All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever."

9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

Advent is the time of Hope and New Beginning. Pope Saint Leo the Great (400–461) said:

If in this life, it is difficult to persevere, it is possible, nevertheless, oftentimes to begin again, in order that we may be occupied more frequently and more intently with spiritual things rather than carnal ones.
(Sermon IX, On the December Fast)

Father Mark added:

Advent is the season of a new beginning. It is the moment to start afresh. The inner movement of Advent surges upward and outward towards God.

"All my heart goes out to thee, O Lord my God" (Psalm 24:1).

Year after year the Holy Ghost gives us this time of grace and so helps us to leave behind all of those things that make us heavy–hearted, earth–bound, and lethargic. Advent brings to souls the grace of setting out once again with swift pace, light step, and unswerving feet.

The world is going through trials and tribulations. Christians in Middle East and other parts of the world are being persecuted just like they were in the beginning of Christianity. We wonder where is God as we face this evil. God is there right beside us to strengthen us and to provide a shoulder to lean on. As we look forward to the celebration of the first Christmas and look forward to the second coming of our savior as He promised when He will come in glory, let us turn our gaze, as John the Baptist did, towards our God and be confident that we have nothing to fear so long as we have our God beside us.

That is the message of Advent. God keeps his promises as we learned in the Advent readings.