Tuesday, December 27, 2016 John, Apostle and
Evangelist
1st Reading: 1 Jn 1:1-4
Gospel: John 20:1,2-8
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala ran to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved. And she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid him.”
Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter.
Then Simon Peter came following him and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat. The napkin, which had been around his head was not lying flat like the other linen cloths but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and believed.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
The author of Revelation (4:7) talks about having seen four creatures around the throne, namely, ox, lion, man and eagle. Tradition has ascribed these four creatures to the four Gospel writers. The eagle represents John the Evangelist whose feast we celebrate today. Because only an eagle can look straight at the sun without being bedazzled, this representation gives justice to the gift of discernment John enjoyed and had put to good use.
John had the most penetrating gaze into the mysteries of God. If we read his Gospel we can get lost in a maze of profound ideas, central of which is his treatise on God as the Word. This capacity to pierce into the mystery of God was possible because of John’s close relationship with Jesus. The measure of this closeness can be discerned by his own description of himself as “the disciple whom (Jesus) loved.”
Today’s Feast of John the Evangelist invites us to check how far our relationship with God has matured. Maturity in following Christ entails the outgrowing of one’s manic desire for rewards. It means arriving at the point of growth where loving God is no longer compelled by fear of the loss of heaven and the pains of hell but by gratitude to God for loving us first. When faith is too focused on getting to heaven, Christianity is still self- centered being too focused on the reward of wellbeing. When faith has matured, “solo Dios basta” (God alone suffices), to borrow from the famous saying of St. Therese.
Inspired by the life of John the Evangelist, let us develop a close relationship with Jesus. We may not have the privilege of writing a Gospel for Jesus as John had, but our own life will be one living Gospel story if inspired by higher motive of discipleship – even higher than eagles could fly. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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