Following the good news that Mary heard from the angel Gabriel, that she would give birth to Jesus, she went to visit a relative of hers called Elizabeth, who was 6-months pregnant with a baby boy who would come to be known as John the Baptist.

We have a lot of information about john the Baptist and about his father Zacharias who was a priest of the order of Abijah who served in the temple at set times. This and the fact that john was six months older than Jesus allows us to work out the exact time of Jesus birth

As Mary shared the wonderful news with Elizabeth, John leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. And I wonder, are we that excited to hear about Jesus? Have we really understood how absolutely wonderful the news of Jesus birth was, and still is?