Trauma's effects

 I was just thinking about family ties and support, especially who becomes a surrogate Dad or Mom when a parent dies and leaves a young child. Actually I was thinking of John the Baptist. His parents were in their old age when Elizabeth became pregnant with John and they probably did not see him grow up.

Mary was much younger than Elizabeth, although close to her cousin, so that she went to visit her when told of Elizabeth's pregnancy.  Although they apparently did not live close to each other, in the normal course of events they would have stayed in contact and their sons would have probably met from time to time. John would certainly have been among the brothers of Jesus mentioned in the New Testament.

 Since their boys were the same age Mary would have been concerned for John when his parents died. Did she and Joseph consider fostering the orphan? Would such a solution have been possible? Did John spend some time with his cousin? We don't know.

 How did John survive? How did losing his parents at an early age affect him?  Today we hear about the traumatic effect of losing a parent. So often traumatic loss is offered as an excuse for delinquent behaviors, drug addiction, alcoholism etc.. But just as often the victim instead of turning inward to brood on his own loss turns to others who have endured similar losses to help them cope with their pain. We all have choices to make, to become a victim or to help one.

 John seems to have been a loner as he grew up, living in the wilderness, usually depicted as what we would regard as a long-haired hippie. But there is no evidence of delinquency or addiction. In fact he drank no alcohol, ate no rich foods, lived simply.

We do know how he died.  He condemned wrong-doing by a powerful political figure and was imprisoned and eventually executed for doing so. Of him Jesus said: "among those born of woman there was none greater than John the Baptist!"