Saint of the Day for December 27:
John the Evangelist (6 â 100) Listen to Saint John the Evangelistâs Story Here It is God who calls; human beings answer. The vocation of John and his brother James is stated very simply in the Gospels, along with that of Peter and his brother Andrew: Jesus called them; they followed. The absoluteness of their response is indicated by the account. James and John âwere in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed himâ (Matthew 4:21b-22). For the three former fishermenâPeter, James and Johnâthat faith was to be rewarded by a special friendship with Jesus. They alone were privileged to be present at the Transfiguration, the raising of the daughter of Jairus and the agony in Gethsemane. But Johnâs friendship was even more special. Tradition assigns to him the Fourth Gospel, although most modern Scripture scholars think it unlikely that the apostle and the evangelist are the same person. Johnâs own Gospel refers to him as âthe disciple whom Jesus lovedâ (see John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), the one who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and the one to whom Jesus gave the exquisite honor of caring for his mother, as John stood beneath the cross. âWoman, behold your sonâŠ. Behold, your motherâ (John 19:26b, 27b). Because of the depth of his Gospel, John is usually thought of as the eagle of theology, soaring in high regions that other writers did not enter. But the ever-frank Gospels reveal some very human traits. Jesus gave James and John the nickname, âsons of thunder.â While it is difficult to know exactly what this meant, a clue is given in two incidents. In the first, as Matthew tells it, their mother asked that they might sit in the places of honor in Jesusâ kingdomâone on his right hand, one on his left. When Jesus asked them if they could drink the cup he would drink and be baptized with his baptism of pain, they blithely answered, âWe can!â Jesus said that they would indeed share his cup, but that sitting at his right hand was not his to give. It was for those to whom it had been reserved by the Father. The other apostles were indignant at the mistaken ambition of the brothers, and Jesus took the occasion to teach them the true nature of authority: ââŠ[W]hoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for manyâ (Matthew 20:27-28). On another occasion, the âsons of thunderâ asked Jesus if they should not call down fire from heaven upon the inhospitable Samaritans, who would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. But Jesus âturned and rebuked themâ (see Luke 9:51-55). On the first Easter, Mary Magdalene âran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, âThey have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we donât know where they put himââ (John 20:2). John recalls, perhaps with a smile, that he and Peter ran side by side, but then âthe other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb firstâ (John 20:4b). He did not enter, but waited for Peter and let him go in first. âThen the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believedâ (John 20:8). John was with Peter when the first great miracle after the Resurrection took placeâthe cure of the man crippled from birthâwhich led to their spending the night in jail together. The mysterious experience of the Resurrection is perhaps best contained in the words of Acts: âObserving the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they [the questioners] were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesusâ (Acts 4:13). The Apostle John is traditionally considered the author also of three New Testament letters and the Book of Revelation. His Gospel is a very personal account. He sees the glorious and divine Jesus already in the incidents of his mortal life. At the Last Supper, Johnâs Jesus speaks as if he were already in heaven. Johnâs is the Gospel of Jesusâ glory. Reflection It is a long way from being eager to sit on a throne of power or to call down fire from heaven to becoming the man who could write: âThe way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothersâ (1 John 3:16). Saint John the Evangelist is the Patron Saint of: Turkey
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