St John, the Beloved Disciples and Evangelist

1 Jn 1:1-4, Jn 20:2-8. Today wWe celebrate the feast of St John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, who was nicknamed alongside with his brother, James by Jesus “the sons of thunder.” He and his brother were part of the members of the inner circle of Jesus. Along with Peter they were privileged to witness the raising of the dead daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:37), Transfiguration (Mk 9:2) and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:33). He wrote a Gospel, three Epistles and the book of Revelation. John who proclaimed to us Jesus whom he has heard, seen and touched, gave us a new understanding about the love of God. What distinguishes this particular disciple from the others, is that he received and responded to the love of Jesus more fully than all the others did. He was the only Apostle who was present at the foot of the Cross; he remained faithful when others had shown themselves to be unfaithful. His fervour brought him to the empty tomb quicker than Peter; his fervour gave him the insight to realise the meaning of the empty tomb before anyone else.

John is the disciple who encourages us to give ourselves wholeheartedly in love to Jesus as He had given Himself fully to us. John starts his Gospel with the words “In the beginning.” His first epistle also commences with similar words in today's first reading: “What was from the beginning.” This construct harkens back to Genesis 1: “In the beginning.” We have many beginnings in our lives, some more eagerly anticipated and welcomed than others. Each re-start is an opportunity to reflect on what we have done and what we could do and what we did not do. In each moment we have a choice to move closer to God by following the example of Jesus, or to move farther away by focusing on ourselves.

May the Lord who unlocked for us the hidden treasures of His Word, make us give ourselves wholeheartedly in love to Jesus like St John! Amen!! Good morning and a blessed day!!!