WEDNESDAY – HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN, APOSTLE And EVANGELIST (YEAR B)
THEME: The other disciple saw, and he believed
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
1 John 1:1-4
Psalm 96:1-2,5-6,11-
John 20:2-8
LITURGICAL COLOUR
RED
INTRODUCTION
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, commemorating this great man of God whose faith, commitment and dedication to God had brought unto us all a truly great testimony of faith, inspiring all of us in our own way of life and committing ourselves to the Lord. Saint John, Holy Apostle and Evangelist, was known as a great disciple of Christ, the one whom the Lord cared for and loved.
ALSO RECOMMENDED: Homily for Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist Cycle II (1)
FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we heard of Saint John in which he himself described the truth about the Love of God which had been manifested and revealed unto us through the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is this same Christ Who is the One that we celebrate about during this joyous and magnificent Christmas season.
FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
Today’s gospel reading is also the gospel reading for Easter Sunday morning. I have often been struck by the repeated reference to people running in that reading. When Mary Magdalene discovered that the tomb of Jesus was empty on that Sunday morning, she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. These two disciples then run together to see for themselves what Mary told them, with the other disciple running faster than Peter and reaching the tomb first. The running of these three disciples captures something of the initial distress and confusion of that first Easter morning.
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE READINGS OF TODAY?
. We need something of this disciple’s way of seeing today. We sometimes fail to recognize the presence of the risen Lord in the various distressing experiences of emptiness in our lives. At such confusing and troubling moments, we can feel that the Lord is absent. Yet, Christmas is the feast of Emmanuel, God with us, and today’s gospel reading reminds us that the risen Lord is always with us, even in those times when we are tempted to feel he has abandoned us.
CONCLUSION
Let us all be ever more dedicated in putting more and more of our efforts and focus on Him, and be good role models and inspiration to one another just as St. John the Apostle has inspired us. In this Christmas season, let us all remind each other that Christ is truly the reason why we all rejoice and celebrate this magnificent and joyful feast, and let us all endeavour to proclaim Him to all mankind, now and always. Amen.
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