Dec 27 – Feast of St. John, apostle, evangelist
St. John, also known as the ‘beloved disciple’ of Jesus, was the son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of St. James the Great, and was called one of the Sons of Thunder. Before becoming Jesus’ disciple, he was already a disciple of St. John the Baptist, and a friend of St. Peter the Apostle. He was called by Jesus during the first year of Christ’s ministry, and travelled everywhere with him. He took part in the Last Supper, and was the only one of the Twelve not to forsake the Saviour in the hour of his Passion, standing at the foot of the cross.
He was made guardian of Our Lady by Jesus, and he took her into his home. Upon hearing of the Resurrection, he was the first to reach the tomb; when he met the risen Lord at the Lake of Tiberius, he was the first to recognise him.
During the era of the new Church, he worked in Jerusalem and at Ephesus. During Jesus’ ministry, he tried to block a Samaritan from their group, but Jesus explained the open nature of the new Way, and he worked on that principle to found churches in Asia Minor and baptising converts in Samaria. He was imprisoned with Peter for preaching after Pentecost. He wrote the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and possibly the Book of Revelation.
- Patron Saint Index
1 Jn 1:1-4
Jn 20:2-8
“…the other disciple, the one Jesus loved… Peter set out with the other disciple…but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first…”
Originally a disciple of St John the Baptist, he decided to follow Jesus when the Baptist exclaimed ‘Behold the Lamb of God!”. There was no turning back after that for St John. It was probably the starting point of the entire devotion of heart and soul that lasted throughout the entire life of Saint John.
Jesus loved all his disciples, even the one who betrayed him. If you notice, none of the Gospels identify the author by name within the book. St John is trying to remain anonymous out of humility, because this story isn’t about HIM, it’s about Jesus. When he can’t avoid mentioning himself, because he was a witness and participant, he calls himself the disciple Jesus loved. That’s what he thought was the most important thing.
It gets right to the heart of his personal identity. St John loved Jesus and he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus loved him. Jesus’ protective affection for him was probably due to the fact that he was the youngest and smallest of the disciples who made a habit of staying physically close to Jesus. For example, he sat right next to him during the Last Supper, and the Gospel of St John is full of long and intense personal dialogues that could only have been followed by someone standing right next to Jesus.
Of course, this statement is also central to the theology of St John. He preaches about love because he saw up close and personal that everything that Jesus said and did was based upon love — most particularly, his decision to die for the sins of all of his disciples.
It is an odd construction, and makes St John sound a little insecure, if not self-conscious. Over time, I have grown to appreciate it more and more. It makes for a nice contrast with the more assertive writing of someone like the apostle St Paul.
My son, L, is almost 2 and half years old. He is at an age at which he is starting to assert himself and demonstrate more and more of his personality. L is an affectionate child – yes, especially for a boy. He constantly comes over to hug people he is comfortable with. While L is rather quick tempered and can get angry when he does not have things his way, he is also the first to apologize when he realizes that he has upset someone or misbehaved.
My dad recently purchased a trampoline for L and his older sister, M – M is almost 4 and half years old. Despite being a bold and rather adventurous child, L never wanted to jump on it. No amount of coaxing could make him enjoy the trampoline.
One day, M held L by the hand and led him to the trampoline. She got him on the trampoline and began jumping. To our surprise, L began jumping and was soon screaming in delight. I was rather surprised. Between M and L, there is a fair bit of competition for the attention of both my wife and I. The siblings naturally have their little fights. But what I saw that day was surprising and yet, also somewhat comforting.
My dear spouse and I are older parents. With young people deciding to settle down later in life, I often wonder if my spouse and I will live to see M and L get married and have children. But seeing L trust his older sister more than his parents (or even his grandparents), left me with a quiet peace and a short prayer. I pray the siblings maintain this level of trust in one another and journey through life together.
Just as St John was the youngest amongst the apostles, L is the youngest in our home and extended family. He is naturally the most dependent on everyone else.
Recently, we had to send our previous helper back to the Philippines. It had to be a quick decision as the security of our home was potentially compromised. Both M and L were unaware of this decision. As parents, my spouse and I were concerned about how the children would react as we treat our helpers as part of the family and included our previous helper in all our activities, including holidays.
The repatriation was quick, seamless and efficient. Done in the wee hours of the morning to ensure minimal disruption and to also protect the previous helper’s dignity. The children woke up in the morning and had the news broken to them. M sobbed a bit but L was quite nonchalant about what was going on. I realised later that what L had with our previous helper was almost a ‘commercial relationship’ – she gave him his food and provided for some of his needs. But L probably knew that there was no affection in that relationship. I notice a stark difference in L’s relationship with my parents’ helper. He runs to her and embraces her; he even calls out for her during video calls and is delighted when she carries him.
I guess the reason I am writing about my son and drawing parallels is because I see in St John, a child-like affection for Jesus. One where St John recognized Jesus for the person He is – the Messiah and the Son of God. With this recognition, he embraced Jesus and knew he was the Beloved. Like St John, L knows whom he could entrust his trust and affections with.
Brothers and sisters, St John was accorded the highest honour that one man bestows on another – to look after his mother – Our Blessed Mother during Jesus’ crucifixion on Calvary.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gerard Francis)
Prayer: We pray for a child-like trust in our Heavenly Father. He always knows what is best for us and provides in His time.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the graces to discern.
OXYGEN 
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