Quirky story

When I was pregnant with our children we did what all other parents do; we poured over baby name websites and books. We decided that the second name would be a family name but the first name would be one we liked. I never had the sense that the name mattered, beyond what we fancied. We needed to find a name we both liked (no small task).

Some people wait and watch their baby before deciding, feeling like the baby will look like a certain name. This never made sense to me. I was more of the “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” philosophy. I was, however, amazed at how quickly the name took on significance as the new baby made his or her mark on our world. The name and the child soon became inseparable.

Maybe this philosophy of mine, is why I find this story from Luke a bit odd. This baby was destined to be John. Not the character and personality of John the baptist, but specifically John. I’m not sure why this matters. Why couldn’t he have been Zechariah like his dad? Or maybe Obidiah the baptist? OK, that would be awkward to say, but you get my point. In this case he was most definitely John.

It seems a strange story to include. Maybe I’m the only one who finds it strange, but well, there you are.

Luke 1: 57-66
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy,
and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child,
and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
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.”

Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote,
“His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free,
and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe,
and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking,
“What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.