Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist
The gospel reading for today talks of Jesus' appearance to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead. It states that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden where he was buried. Mary then goes to Peter to tell him that she has seen Jesus, and Peter goes to John. Their initial reaction is to see for themselves, so they run to the tomb finding it empty. However, they see the burial clothes that were used to wrap Jesus’ body in the empty tomb. The Bible also teaches that Jesus later appeared bodily to the rest of the twelve disciples and ascended into heaven.
It feels a little strange to be confronted with this gospel passage just after we have celebrated the feast of Christmas. During Advent, we prepared for our celebration of Jesus’ birth, and at Christmas we focused on Jesus as the child in the manger being born who was worshiped by the shepherds and the angels. Today the scriptures instead draw our attention to Jesus as an adult. By showing his disciples at the empty tomb, the passage reminds us of Jesus’ death and resurrection and his appearance to his disciples.
There are many modern thinkers who have questioned whether Jesus really was the person that the Bible presents him to be and whether he really rose from the dead. The disciples who claimed to see Jesus after his resurrection are thought by some to have been deluded. Yet the power of the testimony of these early Christians is conveyed to us not only in the scriptures but also in the Church’s teachings about who Jesus really was. As Christians, we believe that those witnesses who saw Jesus and interacted with him have accurately conveyed to us what Jesus was like as man. Yet these early Christians also witness to their understanding that Jesus was God. This is especially true of the author of the gospel of John, which from the very beginning presents Jesus as divine: “In the beginning was the Word . . .” (v. 1).
The first reading (from 1 John) takes a similar approach to understanding Jesus. In keeping with the theme of today’s gospel reading, this first reading for today tells us that by getting to know Jesus we thereby get to know God. It states that God revealed Godself to Jesus' early followers through the visible and tangible presence of Jesus Christ in their lives (vv. 1-2). This is not a made up story. It is something that was witnessed as confirmed by many people. Additionally countless people since that time have encountered Jesus’ in their lives.
Today is the feast of St. John the Apostle and the Evangelist, who is traditionally identified with the author of the gospel of John. As we reflect on the scriptures for today, let us pray for the grace to understand Jesus as a man and as God so that we may understand him as he truly is.
- Joel Schickel