MP: Psalms 97, 98; Proverbs 8:22-30; John 13:20-35EP: Psalm 145; Isaiah 44:1-8; 1 John 5:1-12
The Apostle we remember today, John, who is credited with writing Revelation and at least one of the letters bearing his name, is one of those characters in Jesus' story that can provide such hope. Holy Women, Holy Men provides a fairly detailed accounting of John's appearance in the Gospels, and Acts and recounts the tradition of his long life in Ephesus and Patmos.
John provides hope because of his humanness. He and his brother James are recalled as "hot heads" with Jesus naming them thunderous. John is a constant companion with Jesus and Peter and is thought to have been Jesus' favorite: "the one whom he loved" and to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, Mary. He then went on to spread the Gospel and be "revered" by individuals we recognize as "the Church Fathers": the apostles' successors scattered around the Mediterranean. John was there, was human (angry, loud-mouthed, loving, devoted). All those human emotions just ebbed out of him, and yet, Jesus loved him for that humanness and John made a huge contribution to our faith's enduring legacy....foibles and all.
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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.
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