Readings
I - 1 Jn. 1: 1-4
II - Jn. 20: 2-8
FEAST OF ST. JOHN, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST
The church celebrates the feast of St. John, the apostle and the evangelist today. St. John is referred as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ (Jh. 13: 23). John was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman. John and his brother James were the first disciples called by Jesus. St. John is the author of five books in the Bible: a Gospel according to St. John, three epistles (1 John, 2 John and 3 John) and the book of revelation. John was one of the closest confidants of Jesus along with Peter and John. St. John had five exclusive privileges: one, he was close to the heart of Jesus which her personally felt as well; two, he had deeper understanding of Christ that is evident from his Gospel; three, Mother Mary was handed over to John at the foot of the cross; four, the first witness of the resurrection and; five, the privilege of long life. Today’s Gospel passage is about Peter and John running to the tomb to witness the resurrection of the Lord witnessed by Mary Magdalene. In his great love for the Master, John outruns Peter but waits for Peter to enter the tomb first, as a mark of his respect for the primacy of Peter. He lived with love, witnessed to the love and exhorted the Christians to live in love.
In the first reading, St. John says, “That which we have seen and have heard, we declare unto you” and He lived it convincingly till the end of his life. Experience help us to emphatically witness. Pray that we as Christians may have a deeper experience of Jesus to proclaim him through our lives as we keep repeating the prayer: “St. John the apostle, Pray for us.”
