The Forerunners of Promise

Voice over by Carol San San Lwin

Judg 13:2-7.24-25a; Psalm: 70; Lk 1:5-25

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, in these final days of Advent, the Church draws our attention to the beautiful and mysterious ways God prepares the world for His saving work. Today, we are given two stories of miraculous births, stories that teach us that God’s greatest gifts are often preceded by a period of waiting, prayer, and divine preparation.

In the Book of Judges, we meet a woman who is barren. An angel of the Lord appears to her with astounding news: she will conceive and bear a son. This child, Samson, is to be consecrated to God as a Nazirite from the womb. He will “begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines.” His very conception is an act of divine intervention, setting him apart for a special mission of deliverance. He is a forerunner, a man of strength, chosen to prepare the way for God’s action among His people.

This Old Testament pattern finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Gospel. We meet another righteous, barren couple: Zechariah and Elizabeth. To Zechariah, an angel appears in the Temple with a parallel, yet far greater, announcement. His wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and he must be named John. This child will be “great in the sight of the Lord,” filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. His mission is explicitly stated: “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God… to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” John the Baptist is the final and greatest forerunner, the new Elijah, whose voice will cry out in the wilderness to make straight the paths for the Messiah Himself.

Samson was a sign of God’s power, beginning a physical deliverance. John is the culmination of that prophetic line, heralding the ultimate spiritual deliverance from sin and death through Jesus Christ. As the Catechism teaches, John is the Lord’s immediate precursor, sent to prepare His way (CCC 523). His miraculous birth to aged parents points to the even greater miracle of the Virgin Birth, just as his preaching of repentance prepares hearts for the Gospel of grace.

The comfort for us is this: God is always at work preparing the way. In our own lives, He often allows periods of waiting—our own “barrenness” of spirit, hope, or fruitfulness—to create a space where His grace can perform a miracle. The long years of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s prayer were not ignored; they were the fertile ground from which the Forerunner sprang.

The challenge is to emulate their faithfulness amidst uncertainty. Zechariah’s initial doubt resulted in silence, but that silence became a space to listen to God. We are called to trust that God is preparing us, even now, to receive Christ more fully and to play our part in His plan of salvation.

Let us take to heart the words of Saint Augustine: “John appears as the boundary between the two Testaments.” He closes the era of promise and opens the era of fulfillment.

As we await the celebration of Christ’s birth, may the stories of Samson and John the Baptist fill us with confident hope. God is faithful. He prepares the way, He keeps His promises, and He sends His messengers to turn our hearts toward the Savior who is coming. Amen.