The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, challenge us to ponder the faith and love of the Beloved Apostle that shows us the Way to fullness of life.
The Reading from the First Letter of John proclaims The Word of Life*
* [1:1–4] There is a striking parallel to the prologue of the gospel of John (Jn 1:1–18), but the emphasis here is not on the preexistent Word but rather on the apostles’ witness to the incarnation of life by their experience of the historical Jesus. He is the Word of life (1 Jn 1:1; cf. Jn 1:4), the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible (1 Jn 1:2; cf. Jn 1:14), and was heard, seen, looked upon, and touched by the apostles. The purpose of their teaching is to share that life, called fellowship…with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, with those who receive their witness (1 Jn 1:3; Jn 1:14, 16). (1 John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 97 praises God appearing in a storm.
* [Psalm 97] The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Heb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12). (Psalms, PSALM 97 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of John proclaims The Empty Tomb.
* [20:1–10] The story of the empty tomb is found in both the Matthean and the Lucan traditions; John’s version seems to be a fusion of the two.
* [20:1] Still dark: according to Mark the sun had risen, Matthew describes it as “dawning,” and Luke refers to early dawn. Mary sees the stone removed, not the empty tomb.
* [20:2] Mary runs away, not directed by an angel/young man as in the synoptic accounts. The plural “we” in the second part of her statement might reflect a tradition of more women going to the tomb.
* [20:3–10] The basic narrative is told of Peter alone in Lk 24:12, a verse missing in important manuscripts and which may be borrowed from tradition similar to John. Cf. also Lk 24:24.
* [20:6–8] Some special feature about the state of the burial cloths caused the beloved disciple to believe. Perhaps the details emphasized that the grave had not been robbed. (John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. Anish Kochanichottil, SJ, comments that St. John is called ‘the beloved disciple’ because the biblical narratives reveal a man of great emotional power, capable of profound love and unwavering commitment. And love and commitment, he believes, help us understand others more clearly.
The Gospel says, “…he saw and believed.” John believed that Jesus had truly risen. He is credited as the first to understand and believe in the resurrection. What made this possible? It was love, love that gave him eyes to read the signs and a mind ready to grasp their meaning. The gospel and the Epistles of John speak repeatedly of love, showing that the author wrote from experience. Love is the greatest interpreter. Love can grasp the truth when intellect is confused. Love looks beyond the surface. (Kocnanichottil, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Word of Life was seen and touched,” by Severus of Antioch (488-538 AD).
"Given that this same John also said, 'No one has ever seen God' (John 1:18, 1 John 1:4:12), how can he assure us that the living Word of Life has been seen and touched? It is clear that it was in his incarnate and human form that he was visible and touchable. What was not true of him by nature became true of him in that way, for he is one and the same indivisible Word, both visible and invisible, and without diminishing in either respect he became touchable in both his divine-human nature. For he worked his miracles in his divinity and suffered for us in his humanity." (excerpt from CATENA) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 1:1-4 comments that the saint we celebrate today had the privilege of knowing the Lord and witnessing his resurrection—as well as the responsibility of proclaiming the good news of all that he saw and experienced. And John did proclaim it, not only in his missionary efforts, but especially in his Gospel and in the letters and the Book of Revelation that bear his name.
What is at the heart of John’s proclamation? That each of us can experience the joy that he felt because every one of us is a “disciple . . . whom [Jesus] loved” (John 19:26). That means you can experience John’s joy. And like John’s joy, it’s made “complete” as you give it away (1 John 1:4).
How have you seen and heard and felt Jesus? Whatever you have experienced, share it with someone today—and watch your joy grow!
“Holy Spirit, fill me with joy that overflows as I share the gospel!” (Meditation on 1 John 1:1-4, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the reading from the First Letter of John is from one of perhaps three authors of the books; the Letters, the Gospel, and Revelation because the style and theology is very different in the three books. The beginning of the letter today is to remind us not of the preexisting nature of Christ but the Incarnate nature thereby fighting the heresy of docetism that claimed Jesus just pretended to be human. This letter emphasizes His humanity and when we saw the Word became flesh. Mary goes early to the tomb and informs the others and the Beloved arrives first demonstrating the power of Love to do incredible things. He arrives first but He bows to authority and presents again the contrast of the Beloved and Peter in the Gospel of John. Friar Jude reflects on the burial clothes being placed separately and the cloth over the face of Jesus was simply folded up and is connected to the Shroud of Turin.
James Finley invites us to rest in the same awareness or “mind of Christ” that Jesus lived from. He did not live out of his head. It was not mere ideas that he espoused, but deeply realized, deeply lived truths of what it means to be a fully alive human being. Saint Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” We see the glory of God in the fully alive human person of Jesus. And in this way we, in seeing Jesus, see the glory of the flesh-and-blood human being we simply are and are called to be.
When we meditate, we enter the mind of Christ from the ground up. We do not bypass our breathing. Rather, we sit and listen and settle into the mystery of breathing…. When we sit still, we do not bypass the concrete immediacy of our bodily being. Rather, in sitting still we settle into the mystery of our bodily being that God the Father eternally contemplates in Christ the Word. When we meditate, we do not bypass our feelings. Rather, we settle into the mystery of all our feelings, as having their hidden, uncreated origins in the Father’s eternal contemplation of our feelings in Christ the Word. When we sit in meditation, we neither continue thinking nor abandon thought. Rather, we sit, quiet and still, in deepening meditative awareness of the uncreated origins of the Father’s eternal contemplation of thought in Christ the Word. (Finley, n.d.)
We hear that John “saw and believed” and we invoke the Spirit to enhance our vision and understanding of the message of Christ for fullness of life in our journey.
References
Finley, J. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/christ-in-all-things-weekly-summary/
John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?1
Kocnanichottil, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-december-27-2025
Meditation on 1 John 1:1-4. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/12/27/1459913/
1 John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/1?1
Psalms, PSALM 97 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/97?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). John Saw the Word of God Made Flesh and Believed. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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