On December 27, the Roman Catholic Church honors the life of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, a son of Zebedee, and younger brother of James.
John was one of the first batch of the disciples (e.g.
Matthew 4:18-22). He was the only disciple who followed Jesus all the way to
the foot of the Cross (John 19:25-27). And he was the one, whom Jesus entrusted
to care for his mother, Mary (John 19:27) and whom Jesus revealed apocalyptic
vision, which he wrote in the Book of Revelation. This tells how intimate John’s
relationship with Jesus was.
In the Gospel Reading (Jn 20:1a, 2-8), we see how John
responded to the empty tomb of Jesus on the day of the resurrection. As Mary Magdalene
reported that Jesus’ corpse was missing from his tomb, John and Peter rushed to
the tomb (John 20:1-3). John ran faster and arrived at the tomb first (John
20:4). He bent down and saw Jesus’ burial clothes in the tomb but did not enter
(John 20:5). Peter arrived and entered the tomb and saw the burial clothes and
head cover neatly separated (John 20:6-7). Then, John entered the tomb (John
20:8a). What was seen in the tomb was neatly folded burial clothes, indicating
that tomb robbery was not likely to make the tomb empty. Neither John nor Peter
understood the scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead (John 20:9). But
John believed that he was risen from the dead, upon inspecting the empty tomb
of Jesus (John 20:8b).
John believed that Jesus was risen from the dead from the
way the empty tomb looked. He did not need to see the body of risen Jesus to
believe. And he did not have to wait until he understood the scripture that describes
Jesus’ death and resurrection (e.g. Isaiah 52:13-53:12; cf. Psalm 16:10-11). It
was because of his faith (i.e. John 20:29), along with hope, empowered by love
(i.e.1 Corinthians 13:13). It was, therefore, John’s love to Jesus that made
him convinced that Jesus was risen from the dead, by entering the empty tomb
and seeing the way the burial cloths and head cover were placed there, without
actually seeing the body of risen Jesus. John was, indeed, a man of love.
While Paul emphasizes the supremacy of love (agape)
and describes characteristics of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13), John writes
extensively about love, especially in our relation to God (e.g. John 3:16; 13:1,34-35;
14:15, 21, 23, 28; 15:9-10,12-13, 17; 16:27; 17:23, 26; 21:15-17) in connection
to the love that keeps Father-Son as one (John 10:30, 36) (e.g. John 3:35;
5:20; 10:17; 14:31; 15:9 ; 17:24). And he is called the disciple whom Jesus
loved (e.g. John 13:32; 20:2).
Among the four canonical Gospels, John’s Gospel gives the systematic Christological insight in the Trinitarian context. His three epistles bring this Trinitarian Christological insight in light of our relation to God and to one another with a running theme of love.
John wrote his Gospel and Epistles to strengthen the
faith of the followers of Christ so that they would be impervious to demonic
influences, as well as, heresies, and faithful unto death (i.e. Revelation
2:8-10). For this, we must have a solid Christological understanding in the
Trinitarian context and application to our life of faith.
The First Reading (1 John 1:1-4), for example, gives a
concise Christological introduction:
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.
And this succinctly reflect these words of John’s
Gospel, in terms of the Father, Christ the Son, and us:
In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to
be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it
(John 1:1-5).
He came to what was his own, but his own
people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to
become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by
natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And
the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the
glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth (John
1:11-14).
No one has ever seen God. The only Son,
God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him
(John 1:18).
No one has gone up to heaven except the
one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone
who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but
might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world might be saved through him
(John 3:13-17).
If you remain in me and my words remain in
you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my
Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the
Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my
commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be
in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another
as I love you (John 15:7-12)
I pray not only for them, but also for
those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the
world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them
the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and
you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may
know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me (John
17:20-23).
While Luke describes how God was incarnated in Mary’s
womb and how this incarnated God in the human flesh of Jesus was born (Luke
1:26-38; 2:1-14), John gives a reason for this strain of events. And it is
God’s desire to form a fellowship with us in the Trinitarian context. Only John
personifies the Holy Spirit as “another Advocate”( ἄλλον
Παράκλητον – allon Parakletos)(John 14:16, cf. John
14:26; 15:26; 16:7) and describes Christ and the Holy Spirit in juxtaposition
(John 14:18, 28), for both are sent by the Father (John 3:16; 14:16). It is
because, only John describes Christ as the Παράκλητον – Parakletos (1
John 2:1).
Through his Gospel and Epistles, John wants us to know
God desires the fellowship with us, though we have sinned and gone astray. He
wants brings us back to him. For this, out of His love for us, God the Father has
sent us the Son as the Parakletos, incarnating the Word, that is God, by
the power of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb. And He also has sent the Holy Spirit,
as another Parakletos. This way, God can bring us to Him through Christ
the Son, the Parakletos. After all, it is because Deus caritas est
(God is love) (1 John 4:8, 16). Apostle and Evangelist, St. John, articulates
this through his Christological description in the Trinitarian context, because
he is a man of love.
No comments:
Post a Comment