Today's Ornament of Grace for Tuesday of the Octave of Christmas is St. John, Apostle and Evangelist.
1 John 1:1-4
This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have touched – we speak of the word of life. …This fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed, our purpose in writing you this is that our joy may be complete.
Today’s first reading is from the short letter of John, proclaiming the same idea as the Gospel of John with a slightly different emphasis. In John’s Gospel, the divine nature of Jesus is prominent. We hear about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead today. But, by the time the letter of John is written well after the resurrection, some people based everything on Jesus’ divinity and tended to forget that He was truly human as well. So, John’s letter reminds us that Jesus, while one with God, became one of us, truly sharing in our humanity.
Having just celebrated Christmas, when Jesus became man, it is a good time to remember that Jesus spent His time on earth loving. That is John’s message over and over. God is love, and Jesus is love in the flesh. Love, for Jesus and in John’s messages, is not an abstract concept. It is love embodied in human actions. John says today that Jesus invites us into communion with His Father and with Him. So, we, too, embody love in the way we speak, in the way we are present to one another, in our actual living in this human community.
John’s emphasis is also on joy. If we live in right relationship with God and one another, then he says our joy will be complete. John knew Jesus personally and loved Him as a human walking this earth; he heard Jesus, touched Him, and saw Him reaching out to the poor, the sick, the marginalized. John knew what Jesus was about and, therefore, what we need to be doing if we want to experience true joy.
John, along with his brother James, was among the first apostles called by Jesus, after Peter and Andrew. Early in Jesus’ ministry, John witnessed many signs and miracles performed by Jesus. He was present when Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. Jesus took him up the mountain at the Transfiguration, where he witnessed Jesus’ glory and heard the voice of the Father. He heard Jesus prophesy about the last days when they were on the Mount of Olives, and he was nearby when Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus trusted John with the care of his beloved mother when he was dying on the Cross. John saw the empty tomb after the resurrection, and he was in the upper room when Jesus appeared. John was present at Jesus’ last appearance at the Sea of Galilee prior to the Ascension. Likely, these are just the highlights, but John knew Jesus extremely well and wants us to know Him, believe in Him and love as Jesus did so that we, too, can know perfect joy.
In establishing the early Christian Community, John worked first in Jerusalem along with Peter. He was with Peter when he healed a lame man in the Temple. When Peter went to confer the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans converted by Philip, John accompanied him. His mission of preaching never ended during his life, and he tells us today the same message: God is Love. We can listen to John, for he knew Jesus intimately.
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
What difference has your relationship with Jesus made in your life?
Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010
Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers
Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate
