Awe and Wonder | John the Baptist: Wonder

The story of John the Baptist leaping in his mother Elizabeth’s womb at the presence of the in-utero Christ is a profound reminder of how we are called to respond to Jesus. John’s leap wasn’t merely a random movement; it was a joyful recognition of Christ’s presence and a foreshadowing of his life’s purpose—to prepare the way for the Messiah. This moment invites us to see that faith isn’t an irrational leap but a deeply rooted response to God’s truth, revealing that we, like John, are designed to point others to the awe and wonder of God’s love, especially as revealed in the story of Christmas. 

Isaiah 40:1-3 (ESV)

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
    that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
    double for all her sins.

A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Luke 1:39-45 (ESV)

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”