Names carry meaning. They hold the hopes of parents and foreshadow the accomplishments of the child. We probably subconsciously all try to live up to the expectations embodied in our names. ‘John’ comes from the Hebrew and means ‘God’s grace’: the female form is Joanne or Joanna. John the Baptist is graced by God and is also an instrument of God’s grace. Luke parallels the story of the prophet John with that of the prophet Jesus in ways that point to the even more significant role of Jesus in God’s dealings with God’s people. John grows and becomes strong in spirit. Jesus grows strong and advances in age and wisdom and grace (2:41, 49). John is the voice crying in the wilderness, the one preparing the way (3:5-6). Jesus will go into the wilderness and emerge victorious to teach the ways of God (4:1, 15). John baptises with water, Jesus ‘with the Holy Spirit and fire’ (3:16). John fasts, Jesus feasts. John knows who he is and what he has to do. He is not the Messiah and he refuses to accept the adulation of the crowd. John’s story keeps giving way to that of Jesus and the community that forms around him. In a sense, we are all called to do what John does, namely to point beyond ourselves to the one who incarnates the fullness of God’s life and love.