John - Apostle and Evangelist

We are told that John was the favorite of the the apostles, for the Lord.  John, Peter, and James make up this small group which the Lord takes with him in various situations of healing, expelling demons, the Transfiguration, and at the garden of Gethsemane.  There is an intimacy and closeness that John has with Jesus.  Artists will portray John as quite young, so perhaps it is this child-like status that John has which endears him to the Lord.

At the Cross John keeps vigil with Mary, and the other women, as Jesus slowly dies.  And it is John, who with Peter, explore the tomb on the first Easter Day.  So John does not only have this close experience  of the ministry of Jesus, as powerful as that is, but this very deep and personal experience of the Paschal Mystery as well.  So when John proclaims and preachings, he is doing so from a well formed foundation which is firmly rooted in the divine mandate to preach to all peoples.

Perhaps we do not make as much about Baptism and Confirmation as we should that is the place where we begin to hear the voice of Christ Jesus, and follow in the ways of Jesus.  As the Baptist reminded us prior to the feast of the Incarnation, our journey of faith should be one of conversion and discipleship.  More so, as John's ministry reminds us, being brought into a relationship with Jesus Christ obligates us to tell others about what we have heard and seen.

On Christmas Eve day, I answered one of the myriads of phone calls we receive at the rectory, for the times of the Mass.  One gentleman seemed intrigued by the prospect of a 4:00 Mass, but asked whether it was going to be one of those "Long drawn out masses," since his family had places to go and things to do.  I did not say so, but perhaps it would be better not to go to Mass with that understanding and level of belief.

Several of the documents of Vatican II reflect on having a full and active participation in life of the Church.  Sometimes I think we want Church 'done to us' rather than going out and doing Church.  Or even we want to re-work the Mass so that it is 'special' for us, rather than coming to the understaning of what we are doing is about salvation, and our participation in the community. 

This feast of St. John the Apostle asks us to lok at our own intimacy with Jesus Christ.  Do we allow Jesus to form and re-form our being, or is he simply like a facebook friend.  As I was looking at some parish catechesis for the Year of Faith this year, I considered how exciting it would be if everyone took some time to examine their baptismal role in the Church, and in the world.  It would be kinda cool if after we did a renewal of Baptismal Promises, folks left Church remembering something more than Father sprinkled water on us.