Gospel: December 27, 2024

December 27, 2024 (Friday)

Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

Psalter: Proper / (White)

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12

Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

1st Reading: 1 John 1: 1-4

Gospel: John 20: 1a, 2-8

Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, she ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid him.”

Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat. The napkin, which had been around his head, was not lying flat like the other linen cloths, but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed.

See Also

Sara now mulls hiring ‘private security’

Reflection:

“The Beloved Disciple”

In the Catholic tradition, St. John is identified both as one of the Twelve Apostles and the Evangelist. St. John is considered as the inspiration behind the writing of the Gospel of John. Moreover, the name John is also associated with the Beloved Disciple mentioned in John’s Gospel.

Today’s Gospel passage narrates that Mary Magdalene, Peter and the Beloved Disciple to be the first ones to see the empty tomb. In today’s pericope, it is narrated that the Beloved Disciple saw that the tomb was empty and that he believed. In Gospel of John, the verb “to believe” (cf. Greek pisteuō) is profoundly connected to the verb “to see” (cf. Greek horaō). We may reflect on the point that the Beloved Disciple sees things through the eyes of faith.

Thus, the Beloved Disciple is the model disciple. Moreover, he bears witness to Jesus who is the Word of life (cf. 1 Jn 1:1). We may further reflect that St. John, represented by the Beloved Disciple, becomes our model in seeing things through the eyes of faith and bearing witness to the Word of life.