A reading from the first letter of saint John (1:1-4)
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our own eyes,
what we have watched
and touched with our own hands,
about the Word of life,
this is our theme.
This life was revealed;
we have seen it and give testimony,
and declare to you the eternal life,
which was with the Father and was revealed to us.
We are declaring to you
what we have seen and heard,
so that you too may share our life.
Our life is shared with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete.
The feast of St John gently reintroduces us to the Christmas theme. The opening verses of the first letter of John reflect the first verses of the Gospel of John. Both documents speak of the ‘Word’ (logos) that was from the ‘beginning’ (arche). The first letter of John is a meditative homily which serves as a backdrop to the whole of the season of Christmas. The ‘Word of life’ (zoe) has been revealed (phaneroun), and has been heard, seen, watched and touched. This Word, ‘which was with the Father’, is now proclaimed and creates ‘community’ (koinonia) with the Father and with the Son. This is surely the deepest sense of Christmas, and it gives rise to ‘joy’ (chara).
Psalm 97 (96) All peoples have seen the glory of the Lord of all the earth, which brings light and joy .
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (20:2-8)
On the first day of the week Mary of Magdala came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him.’
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. The two ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying there and also the cloth that had been on his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.
Mary of Magdala has brought the message of the empty tomb, but the focus of today’s gospel reading is on Peter and ‘the disciple Jesus loved’, traditionally understood to be the apostle John. At the supper this disciple had been the one reclining next to Jesus (13:23). The one driven by love runs faster and reaches the tomb first. He ‘sees’ (blepei) the linen cloths but does not enter. Apparently acknowledging the leadership of Peter, the beloved disciple allows Peter to enter first into the tomb where Jesus had been laid. Peter ‘sees’ (theorei) the burial cloths, and notes them in detail. The beloved disciple, by contrast, driven by love, ‘saw’ (eiden) and also believed (pisteuein). It is difficult to reflect the variety of Greek words involved in the different stages of ‘seeing’. When the eyes of love see, they are drawn to faith.
What does the beloved disciple teach us?
Seeing is a stage on the way.