December 27, 2025
Feast of Saint John, Apostle and
Evangelist
Lectionary: 697
Reading
1
Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (12) Rejoice
in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
On the first day
of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122725.cfm
Commentary on 1 John
1:1-4
Today, on this feast of St John, Apostle and Evangelist, we
begin reading from the First Letter of John and will continue to do so until
early January. Today’s reading of the first four verses forms an introduction
to the letter.
Already at this early stage in the Church, there were those
who could not accept that the Son of God could have taken on a genuinely human
body. In a mistaken zeal for the spiritual, they condemned everything
material as evil, and they held that the humanity of Jesus could only be a
mirage, an appearance. To be fully united with God meant to withdraw as
much as possible from everything material.
The people who held such views were known as Gnostics and,
because they are such a concern of the author of this Letter, we might list some
of their main ideas:
- The
human body, which is matter, is evil. It is to be contrasted with
God, who is totally spirit and therefore good.
- Salvation
is escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ, but by special
knowledge. The Greek word for knowledge is gnosis, and hence
the derivation of their name.
- The
Gnostics denied Christ’s true humanity in two ways. First, some said that
Christ only seemed to have a human body, a view called
Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, meaning ‘to seem’); and
second, others said that the divine Christ joined the man Jesus at Baptism
and left him before he died—a view called Cerinthianism, after its most
prominent spokesman, Cerinthus. It is this second version that we
meet in 1 John 1:1; 2:22; 4:2-3.
- Since
the body was considered evil, it was to be treated harshly. This
ascetic form of Gnosticism is the background to part of the letter to the
Colossians (2:21-23).
- Paradoxically,
this dualism also led to licentious behaviour. The reasoning was
that, since matter—and not the breaking of God’s law (1 Jn 3:4)—was
considered evil, breaking his law was of no moral consequence.
The Gnosticism addressed in the New Testament was an earlier
form of the heresy, not the intricately developed system of the 2nd and 3rd
centuries. Mention of Gnosticism can be found in John’s letters,
Colossians 1 and 2, Timothy, Titus and 2 Peter, perhaps even in 1 Corinthians.
The writings of John are a total rejection of this
position. The Word not only became a human being; John, in his Prologue,
says provocatively that the Word was “made flesh”. He fully entered into
our material condition, blessed it and sanctified it.
And in today’s reading too he emphasises contact with a
real, bodily Jesus. Although the Word existed “from the beginning”, what
we have heard, we have seen with our own eyes and
we have touched with our hands. And, of course, similarly
after the Resurrection, Jesus invites the sceptical Thomas to touch and feel
him:
Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your
hand and put it in my side. (John 20:27)
And it is this physical, truly human, touchable Jesus that
the Church proclaims. Over the ages, there has always been in the Church
the tendency to withdraw from the material. In particular, there have
been many concerns about the human body and its sexual functions. And even
today, as Christians, we may feel awkward or embarrassed to speak about these
things, especially in a religious context.
Everything that God made is good. And as one medieval
mystic liked to say, every created thing is a Word of God. To those who
can see, every created thing, living or inanimate, speaks of God and the
Creator. Few poets have expressed this as well as the English Jesuit,
Gerard Manley Hopkins:
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things…The
world is charged with the grandeur of God.
This has all been affirmed by the Incarnation, by the
infinite Son of God sharing our bodily human nature and all its functions. This
Word is life in the sense of being the source of all real living, not just
existing.
In John’s Gospel (10:10) we read:
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
This sharing of life is an idea most central to John’s
spirituality. Unity among all Christians results from the common life shared by
Christ between each Christian and God. It is that fellowship (a lovely word)
expressing a close union of the believer with Christ (we think of the vine and
the fruit-bearing branches), as well as communion with the Father and with all
fellow-Christians.
Today’s passage presents a striking parallel to the prologue
of John’s Gospel (1:1-18) but, whereas in the Gospel passage the emphasis is
more on Jesus as the pre-existent Word, here it is on the Apostles’ witness to
the ‘fleshiness’ and the ‘touchability’ of the Jesus they knew. In the
best sense of the words, Jesus was a ‘real man’.
Comments Off
Commentary on John
20:2-8
From the Gospel, we know that John was the brother of James
and the son of Zebedee. He and his brother were among the first to be
called (together with Peter and Andrew) by Jesus.
Today’s Gospel reading describes the scene where Peter and
the ‘beloved disciple’ rush to the tomb of Jesus after being told by Mary
Magdalene that his body is no longer there. Although the disciple “whom
Jesus loved” got there first, he deferred to Peter, who went in first and saw
the burial cloths. One of the cloths—the piece that was wrapped around
the face—was rolled up in a separate place. When the ‘beloved disciple’
went in:
…he saw and believed.
In other words, he understood the significance of the cloth
and he knew that his Lord had risen.
Later, the Risen Jesus will say to Thomas:
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe. (John 20:29)
Here the disciple did not see the physical Jesus.
Nevertheless, on the basis of what he did see, he believed.
The question is: what exactly did he see? What he saw
was that the cloth which had covered Jesus’ head was not with the rest of the
burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place. Why should that trigger
his conviction that the Lord had risen?
The book of Exodus (chap 34) describes how Moses, after
coming down from the mountain and conversing with God, was so radiant with
light that people were afraid to approach him. And so, he put a veil to
cover his face:
…but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with
him, he would take the veil off until he came out, and when he came out and
told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the
face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining, and Moses would put the
veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him.
(Exod 34:34-35)
Now some believe that the word ‘veil’ used in John is a
Greek translation of the word in Hebrew used about Moses. In other words,
the veil covering the face of the dead Jesus is now no longer needed because he
has gone face to face with his Father. This veil was the humanity of
Jesus which enabled us to look at our God. Jesus now has a new human
body—his Church. And that was what led to the ‘beloved disciple’s’
conviction that his Master had risen to new life.
For some commentators, the ‘beloved disciple’ is not
actually John, but represents any person who has totally committed himself or
herself to the following of Jesus, anyone who deeply believes and anyone who is
passionately fond of Jesus. At times, as in today’s Gospel, the faith of
the disciple “whom Jesus loved” is shown as surpassing that of Peter.
While the disciples we know of had fled after the arrest of Christ, it is the
‘beloved disciple’ who stands with the Mother of Jesus at the foot of the
cross.
Nevertheless, John as the author of the fourth Gospel and
the three letters attributed to his name, reveals a depth of faith and insight
into the meaning of Christ’s life, death and resurrection that borders on the
mystical and clearly reveals a faith of extraordinary depth. It is a
faith and insight we can pray to have for ourselves.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1227g/
Saturday,
December 27, 2025
Feast of
St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Opening Prayer
Lord God, you are love itself. We know
that you loved us first before we could ever love you. Let this unforgettable
experience of your “beloved apostle” John become also our deep and lasting
experience.
May the love you have shown us in your Son Jesus Christ
move us to love you very deeply in return and overflow on all those we meet in
life. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading – John 20: 1a, 2-8
It was very early on the first day
of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that
the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and
the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of
the tomb,” she said, “and we don't know where they have put him.”
So, Peter set out with the other
disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running
faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen
cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also
came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also
the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but
rolled up in a place by itself.
Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also
went in; he saw and he believed.
Reflection
•
Today’s Gospel presents to us the passage of the
Gospel of John which speaks about the Beloved Disciple. Probably, this text was
chosen to read and to meditate on it today, feast of Saint John the Evangelist,
for the immediate identification that we all make of the beloved disciple with
the apostle John. But the strange thing is that in no passage of the Gospel of
John it is said that the beloved disciple is John. But then, from the most
remote times of the Church, it has always be insisted upon in identifying both
of these. This is why, in insisting on the similarity between the two, we run
the risk of losing a very important aspect of the message of the Gospel in
regard to the beloved disciple.
•
In the Gospel of John, the beloved disciple
represents the new community which is born around Jesus. We find the Beloved
Disciple at the foot of the Cross, together with Mary, the mother of Jesus (Jn
19: 26). Mary represents the People of the Old Covenant. At the end of the
first century, the time in which the final redaction of the Gospel of John was
compiled, there was a growing conflict between the Synagogue and the Church.
Some Christians wanted to abandon the Old Testament and remain or keep only the
New Testament. At the foot of the Cross, Jesus says: “Woman, behold your son!”
and to the Beloved Disciple: “Son, behold your mother!” And both must remain
together as mother and son. To separate the Old Testament from the New one, in
that time was what we would call today separation between faith (NT) and life
(OT).
•
In the Gospel today, Peter and the Beloved
Disciple, informed by the witness of Mary Magdalene, ran together toward the
Holy Sepulchre. The young one runs faster
than the elderly one and reaches
the tomb first. He looks inside the tomb, observes everything, but does not
enter. He allows Peter to enter first. Here is indicated the way in which the
Gospel describes the reaction of the two men before what both of them see: “He
entered and saw the linen clothes lying on the ground, and also the cloth that
had been over his head; this was not with the linen clothes but rolled up in a
place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also
went in, he saw and he believed.” Both of them saw the same thing, but this is
said only of the Beloved Disciple that
he believed: “Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went
in, he saw and he believed.” Why? Is it that Peter did not believe?
•
The Beloved Disciple looks, sees in a different
way, he perceives more than the others. He has a loving look which perceives
the presence of the novelty of Jesus. The morning after that night of working,
looking for fish and, then the miraculous catch of fish, it is he, the beloved
disciple who perceives the presence of Jesus and says: “It is the Lord!” (Jn
21: 7). On that occasion, Peter informed by the affirmation of the Beloved
Disciple, also recognizes, and begins to understand. Peter learns from the
Beloved Disciple. Then Jesus asks three times: “Peter, do you love me?” (Jn 21:
15, 16, 17). Three times Peter answers: “You know that I love you!” After the
third time, Jesus entrusts the flock to the care of Peter, and in that moment,
Peter also becomes a “Beloved Disciple.”
Personal Questions
•
All of us who believe in Jesus are today Beloved
Disciples. Do I have the same loving look to perceive the presence of God and
to believe in his Resurrection?
•
To separate the Old Testament from the New one
is the same thing as to separate Faith and Life. How do I do and live this
today?
Concluding Prayer
The mountains melt like wax, before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his saving justice,
all nations see his glory. (Ps 97: 5-6)
Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
John was one of two sons of Zebedee, and tradition gives
their mother’s name as Salome. From the Gospel, we learn that John, with his
father and brother, were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee. He, along with his
brother James and of course Peter, belonged to the inner circle of disciples
around Jesus. As one would expect, there is no record of the year or place of
his birth. John, with Peter and his brother, were privileged witnesses of
certain events in the Gospel story.
They were with Jesus when he restored the daughter of Jairus
to life (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51), at the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1; Mark 9:2;
Luke 9:28) and also during his Agony in the Garden (Matt 26:37; Mark 14:33). It
was John who went with Peter into the city to make the preparation for the
final Passover meal (the Last Supper, Luke 22:8). It is possible that John was
the other disciple who “who was known to the high priest” and went with Peter
as Jesus was brought into the high priest’s house (John 18:15). But this phrase
may also refer to the ‘Beloved Disciple’.
John and his brother were called Boanerges or
‘Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17) by Jesus because of their fiery temperament,
revealed when they suggested Jesus should call down fire from heaven on some
Samaritans who would not provide hospitality to Jesus and his disciples as they
were passing through the territory (Luke 9:54).
John and James also aroused the ire of their fellow apostles
by asking Jesus privately to grant them the privilege to sit on Jesus’ right
and left in his Kingdom—in other words, having the places of greatest honour.
And, when asked would they be able to go through an experience similar to that
Jesus was about to face in his Passion, they boldly said they could. Jesus told
them they were right, but it would only happen after they had fully absorbed
the way and thinking of Jesus. For instance, they had to understand when he
told them that true greatness was not in having places of honour, but rather in
outdoing everyone in loving service to others.
The name John is traditionally linked with New Testament
writing. Three different authors with the name John have been identified.
First, there is the author of the Gospel according to John and the First Letter
of John, commonly referred to as John the Evangelist and also identified with
John the Apostle. The authorship of books in ancient times was quite loose, and
the name attached to a book may not indicate that that person actually wrote
it, although he may have inspired it in some way. However, the same person does
seem to have authored these two books.
Second, both the Second and Third Letter of John have the
same author, who calls himself the Presbyter or Elder and is sometimes
identified with a person known as John the Presbyter.
And, third, the author of the Book of Revelation or
the Apocalypse (the Greek word for ‘revelation’) calls himself
John, but the book’s whole way of thinking, style and content make it very
unlikely he was the one who wrote the Gospel. He says that, because of his
Christian faith, he had been exiled to the island of Patmos, but he does not
claim to be John the Apostle, although some early writers so identified him.
The Gospel according to John clearly emphasises the divine
nature of Jesus, as both Light and Life and the Word of God incarnated into the
human family. This Gospel also puts love (Greek, agape) as the
vital bond between Father and Son, and between Christ and his disciples, and
also the bond between disciples. Traditionally, John the Apostle wrote his
Gospel towards the end of his life, at the end of the first century.
Another tradition identifies John the Apostle with the
‘Beloved Disciple’ in the Gospel of John, however, this is questionable. The
Beloved Disciple seems rather to represent the perfect or model disciple, one
who has none of the defects and faults of the Twelve, all who reveal clear weaknesses,
including John.
After the Resurrection, John was prominent in the early
Church. Not only would he have been among the early witnesses of the Risen
Lord, but also would have been involved in the early preaching. Chapter 3 of
the Acts of the Apostles speaks of Peter and John going into the Temple to pray
at 9 o’clock in the morning. At the Temple gate they saw a man, “lame from
birth” who was brought there every day. When he begged money from the two
Apostles, they both fixed their gaze on the man and asked him to look at them.
Then Peter said to him:
I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.
(Acts 3:6)
Then Peter pulled the man to his feet. He went into the
Temple with them, walking and jumping about, and praising God. As the crowds
gathered in wonder, this gave Peter the opportunity to preach to them about
Jesus Christ. While they were still addressing the crowd, the Temple guard and
some Sadducees came and arrested the two Apostles and put them in jail for the
night. The following day, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and again,
Peter took the opportunity to speak about Christ and why they believed in him.
Eventually, divided among themselves, their judges sent them away with a
warning never to speak about Jesus again.
The last appearance of John the Apostle in the New Testament
is in chapter 8 of Acts. When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
“accepted the word of God”, Peter and John were sent to evangelise them. The
people there had “only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”, but the
Spirit had not yet come down on them. The two Apostles then laid their hands on
the people and they received the Spirit.
Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the
word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many
villages of the Samaritans. (Acts 8:25)
It is not certain how long John, with the other Apostles,
would have stayed in Jerusalem. However, 12 years later, during the persecution
of Herod Agrippa I, they would have scattered to other parts of the Empire.
John may have gone to Asia Minor. It seems there was already a Christian
community in Ephesus before Paul first went there, and John has always been
linked with that city. He would probably have returned to Jerusalem for the
Council held in 51 AD.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul refers to John,
together with Peter and James, as “the acknowledged pillars”, in other words,
the most prominent figures in the Jerusalem community (see Gal 2:9).
There is a long-standing tradition that John the Apostle
settled in Ephesus. Various legends are told of him there by people like
Clement of Alexandria. It was said he feared that the baths at which the
heretic Cerinthus was bathing would collapse because he was in them. It was
also said that he repeated his exhortation to his followers to love one another
to the point of tedium. He emphasised it because “it is the word of the Lord
and, if you keep it, that is enough”. His message is similar to St. Augustine’s
later saying: “Love and do what you like.”
An old tradition holds that John was banished by the Roman
authorities to the Greek island of Patmos. According to Tertullian, John was
banished after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing
from it. It is said that the entire coliseum was converted to Christianity upon
witnessing this miracle.
The vestments for John’s feast are white, indicating he is
not regarded as a martyr. Artistic representations of John reflect other
legends. He is shown holding a cup with a viper in it, calling to mind a
challenge from the high priest of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus to drink a
poisoned cup. In his role as evangelist, his emblem is an eagle.
John is the patron of theologians, writers, and all who work
at the production of books. The dedication of the church of St John before the
Latin Gate on 6 May commemorates his escape from being put into a cauldron of
boiling oil under the Emperor Domitian.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/f1227s/
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét