Homily for December 27, 2019

It is well to observe the feast St. John the Evangelist and Apostle so soon after our celebration of the Nativity of the LORD. The first few lines of his Gospel summarize very succinctly what we are celebrating at Christmas: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

This is the last of the four Gospels to be written and is based on the eyewitness testimony of a favored one described as “the one whom Jesus loved.” This could easily lead one to surmise that Jesus loved this disciple more than all the rest. Other texts, however, indicate that Jesus loved all of His disciples equally. He said to them and to us as well, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” 

What sets this particular Apostle apart from the others, according to John’s Gospel, is that he received and responded to the love of Jesus more completely than the others did. According to John’s Gospel, he was the only male disciple who was present at the foot of the Cross; he remained faithful to Jesus when others had proven themselves to be unfaithful to Him. His faithful love brought him to the empty tomb quicker than Peter. His faithful love gave him the insight to recognize the true meaning of the empty tomb before anyone else understood it: “He saw and believed.” He is the disciple who encourages all of us to give ourselves wholeheartedly in love to Jesus as He has given Himself fully to us. +