Of all the figures in the New Testament (saving our Lord, obviously), I confess John is the one whom I find most fascinating, and the narrative of his life most compelling. I laugh a little every time I read the account of his naming, at how infuriated Zachariah must have been with the neighbors who “made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called,” since he was struck dumb, not deaf, by the angel in the Temple.