By Olivia Obijiaku
Parents have been charged to give good names to their children because names go a long way in defining people and in shaping their future, since they are prophetic. The Parish Priest of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Rev. Fr. Dr. Tijjani Ezekiel Danlami gave the charge in the parish on the Solemnity of John the Baptist, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
Leaning on the day’s Gospel Luke 1:57-66, 80, in which Elizabeth insisted on the name ‘John’ for her son, the clergyman explained that the name ‘John’ reflected in his life. He detailed that aside being the precursor of Jesus, John became a voice in the wilderness and one whose father’s voice was restored on the same day he was so named, leading people to marvel ‘as to what this child will be.’ He then implored followers of Christ to live out their names as people named after Him and to imitate John the Baptist, who led others to Jesus.
“John means the Lord is gracious or the one graced.” The priest explained. “This means that he was favoured from the beginning. We see him filled with the Holy Spirit, leaping in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, when Mary visited her. John was not only a voice. He was a precursor; an announcer of the Messiah; he was the one, who said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’. Of course naming is very important. The names you give your children matter a lot, because you become what you are called. Names are prophetic. You are telling the world that this is what this child is. This is what this will be.”
“We have been named, and so, let our names attract people to Jesus. Let the things you say and the things you do bring people to Jesus, like John the Baptist, who was there as a sign leading people to Jesus. John became a voice in the wilderness and as a voice on the day of his naming ceremony, restored in the voice of his father. John drew people to Jesus and that is what we are to be found doing.”
