Today, we have gone one better and constructed an entire Flower Festival around our own observance of this important Fest Day! Though, of course, we are not reminded of a wilderness as a result!

The birth of S. John the Baptist, as told to us by St. Luke, is the story of a miraculous birth in that Elizabeth was barren and could not have children. She was also well past child-bearing age.  The appearance of an angel to Zechariah her husband announced the miracle to be.  The pattern of such a miraculous birth is well established and can be found in the lives of many saints and, of course, supremely in the birth of Jesus himself.  The angel arrives, creates fear, announces his message, and is greeted with disbelief. This is followed by either reassuring action (in the case of Mary) or a sign of a different kind, in the case of Zechariah. Because of his disbelief he was struck dumb.

In other respects, however, the story of both births is similar.  There is the Announcement; the birth follows; there is circumcision accompanied by Naming which is still a common Jewish practice.  Then follows prophecy about the child’s future.  These prophecies have come down to us as The Benedictus, the Hymn of Zechariah relating to John, said or sung during Morning Prayer and the Magnificat, relating to Jesus, still said or sung at Evening Prayer.  We are also told about both Jesus and John that they grew and became strong in the Spirit, indicating that in both their lives God acted in a similar way as he prepared them for the Divine drama of Salvation in which both had allotted and significant parts. John as the ‘Forerunner’ - making the way for Jesus to be recognised as the ‘Anointed One’ of whom John would be the Herald and messenger.

Their story has a further similarity in that their names were chosen by God and announced by the angel.  “You will name him John” said the angel to Zechariah and to Mary, “You will name Him Jesus”  The Naming of someone by God is a sign of a special relationship between God and that person. That is why, so often in the Bible, those whose lives were claimed by God for some special purpose underwent a name change – Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel; Saul became Paul and so on.

When the time of our Lord’s circumcision arrived, eight days after the birth, we are told by Luke Jesus was so named because it was ‘the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”  In the case of John, the naming ceremony was surrounded by a little controversy because the priests were going to call him Zechariah after his father – a normal custom, but Elizabeth insisted he be called John. That was not a family name so they insisted that Zechariah’s views be made known. Unable to speak he took a writing tablet and wrote, His name is John.  Only after he had obeyed the angel was he released from his dumbness and began to speak, praising God.

The choosing of a name is something almost all parents takes seriously and in Jewish custom it is linked to the rite of Circumcision which includes a prayer for the child’s well-being.  The Jewish prayer begins: May this little one (who is then named) be great.  In the Christian rite of Baptism, naming also has a place – indeed in popular thinking Baptism is often called ‘Christening’ which is about naming the child.  In the Prayer Book rite of Baptism the priest actually says: 'Name this Child' and the parents say the name before the priest repeats it in the actual baptism.

Choosing a name sometimes follows fashion and there is an annual league table published by the Times newspaper listing the popular names in any particular year. Sometimes names are chosen because of popular television or sports stars. The soaps often give rise to a spate of names, sometimes saddling a poor child with a source of future embarrassment. Interestingly however, there is now a return to more biblical names.  Everyone’s name has a meaning. I am told, for example, that my own name means ‘God’s peace’. Well one tries!

In John the Baptist’s case, John means The Lord gives grace and this gives us the clue as to why both Elizabeth and Zechariah were so insistent on it.  For John the Baptist was the herald of grace. Through his ministry of preparation he got the people ready for the grace of God which would burst upon the world in the person and ministry of Jesus.

John’s role in God’s plan for human salvation has sometimes been seen as a rather subsidiary one. He preached the Gospel of repentance; he baptized people in their droves but the disciples he made were never his. We see this most poignantly when, in John 1:35-37 as Jesus passes by, John the Baptist says: ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ and immediately they left him and followed Jesus.  We may think this is sad and certainly the death he was shortly to endure was very sad but his pointing of the disciples towards Jesus is something rather wonderful.  He is living up to his name – as the one who shows that the Lord gives grace – for as the disciples left him they followed one who both was the grace of God and its chief giver - for Grace is the gift of his own self-giving love. Entering into relationship with Jesus is to enter into a relationship of grace experienced as the intimate love of God for each one of us.  That is what our Patron Saint wanted most of all for those whom he called to a baptism of repentance.

We have, therefore, as our Patron Saint one who was true to his name and nature – the one who points people to the truth that in Jesus Christ God gives us grace.  Over the porch of this Church there is a statue of St. John the Baptist and though a little weather-worn, he is holding a banner on which are the words Ecce Agnus Dei – Behold the Lamb Of God.  Our Patron Saint is, as it were, still inviting others to see in Jesus the one who is the Grace of God – the presence of God’s love in our world – and in that invitation he is saying to each one who passes into this Church – here you will find that grace.

It is good, on our Patronal Festival day when we celebrate not only our Saint but the building which bears his name – that the purpose of this church is to reveal to us the love of God and to invite each one of us into a living relationship with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.  We must never lose sight of that. Nor must we ever forget that this building, built for the glory of God is the place where we can be touched in a very special way by the love of God – a love through which, as our modern baptismal/naming service reminds us – Christ claims us for his own.  Nothing would gladden the heart of our patron saint more than for that to be a reality for us.

Whatever name we have there is always that extra name which is given to us at baptism – the name of Christ – added chosen by our parents which, as a result, has been given a new meaning.  And part of that meaning is that not only are we called to live within the Name of Christ and receive his grace – we are also called to live up to the name of our Patron Saint.  Our lives should be like that of John the Baptist – signs that God indeed does give grace – a grace that has changed our lives and our destiny. In that changed life we can become living statements of the Gospel.

This building, beautiful as it is, has no real purpose if we don’t find here the love of God and in finding it, take it out to others.  We are called to be, therefore, modern day John the Baptists – to be voices crying in the wilderness of this troubled world of ours and this world mostly neglectful of God that there is a better way of living – a repentance way – in that repentance means turning one’s life back towards God and his love. True repentance is not only about sorrow for the wrong things in our lives its about opening ourselves to the love of Gods and about keeping our sights, our hearts, so fixed on God that we become renewed and redeemed by his graceful love.

John already knew this for himself as I hope you do – what he wanted to do was to share his conviction with others and I suspect, as our Patron, he would want us to do the same.  Our plans for a new building go hand in hand with a different kind of building – the building up of ourselves into a community of believers who share Christ’s ministry and mission together which has the same aim as John the Baptist – to point people to God and through our own showing of the knowledge of God’s love changes our lives – so much so that others will want that for themselves. 

This building as it is now; as it will be in the future is a mission and ministry centre , A Love station in a loveless world; A Hope station in a despairing world; A Faith station in an unbelieving world;  Not just this building however but we ourselves who are the Church – we too are stations – places where Love, Hope and Faith can be experienced and from which others can travel towards God.  John the Baptist was all those things for his cousin Jesus and it was the call of God he was happy to fulfil.

May we be content with that role too – a role that is best expressed if, when people meet us, they can see above our lives the banner with the words Ecce Agnus Dei –Behold the Lamb of God ­and in those lives can feel the finger of love pointing away from ourselves towards God – and so be invited to live by His grace.  That really would be living up to the name of our Patron Saint.