Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist(Click here for readings)
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him." So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb...When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there...
Yesterday we celebrated the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Today, we celebrate the feast day of the Apostle John. Why are we celebrating these feasts in the middle of Christmas???
St. Stephen's martyrdom is his birth. In all honesty, St. Stephen's martyrdom is his birth into heaven. Yesterday we did not celebrate his death; we celebrated his birth - his birth into all eternity. Let's not forget: the Lord came down from heaven so that we could go up to heaven. When we die in Christ, we live with Christ.
So, the Christmas season is not interrupted; it is deepened.
St. John the Apostle. Today's readings are just as proper to the Christmas season as they are for the Easter season.
Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it empty. Let's not forget what the tomb was made out of: rock. In other words. The tomb is really a man made cave.
Supposedly, the cave is where the first man was born. "Coincidentally," it is also where the Son of Man was born. Man encounters his master where he gave us life: in a cave. But the mystery runs deeper than this. Fittingly, it is from the cave (or tomb) where the Sons of God are born into eternal life.
O come let us adore Him!
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and from his fullness we have all received" (cf. Jn 1:14, 16).
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